Great crested grebe

With its reproductive plumage, the Great-crested grebe is unmistakable: a cap adorns its head, with black feathers at the top (crest) and two long orange-brown tufts on each cheek that cover the neck down to the bottom. Long neck and flat body brown on top and white on the front of the neck and belly. Outside the breeding season (in Winter) the "cap" is completely missing and then it appears to have whitish cheeks as a continuation of the whitish neck, but brown feathers on the top of the head ("crown"). It has a relatively long and straight beak of a pink color that progressively turns to black for breeding. It will be seen disappearing from the surface of the water (diving) and appearing a little further away after a while. When it flies, it moves near the water and the white bands on its wings are then seen and even more prominently its long neck.

It spreads throughout Europe except in northern Scandinavia. In Western and Central Europe and South Asia it is present all year round. It is a migrant (summer visitor) in Central and Eastern Europe and all of Central Asia from where it leaves to winter on the coasts of Western Europe, all of the Mediterranean, South Asia and South Africa. Permanent populations also exist in East-Centarl Africa and South Australia and New Zealand.

It breeds in wetlands of northern and western Greece, but in our area it is present during the winter months and particularly numerous of them during migration (early spring).

On our island it can be seen from autumn to spring mainly in the sea, in the two gulfs, harbours and rarely in inland wetlands (1-2 individuals in ponds). The population in the Gulf of Kalloni sometimes reaches up to 1,500 individuals (January - mid-March)!

• It feeds mainly with fish (up to 22 cm long and 7.5 cm in diameter!) but also aquatic invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps, snails, frogs etc.
• When it is in breeding season it consumes up to 20% of its body weight in food, daily. The basic method of fishing is diving but it can also feed by just dipping its head in the water and consuming e.g. aquatic insects.
• Its dives underwater last 18-26 seconds!
• In winter they are observed to feed in numerous shoals and during breeding only some individuals (those taking a break from egg-spinning) may fish together.
• In Africa it can be found in inland lakes at altitudes above 3.000 m.
• Truly amazing is the "dance" they do when they mate: with their head feathers outstretched, one of them exactly imitates the movements of the other (head shaking, neck flicking up and down, making a feather on the back, etc. ), while they also swim at full speed towards each other and by flapping their legs endlessly they stay upright out of the water offering each other a tuft of aquatic plants to build their nest little by little.
• In the 19th century their populations were stretched to the limit as they were hunted for their beautiful feathers; fortunately they recovered fully by the 1970s.
• In recent decades more and more individuals have been observed not leaving areas of northern Europe and remaining there in winter, probably due to rising temperatures, and also its breeding population has expanded to the north and north-west of our continent.