Birds
Hooded Grebe
Podiceps gallardoi
On a handful of wind-scoured plateau lakes in Patagonian Argentina, pairs of hooded grebes rear up out of the water in near-perfect unison, performing a courtship dance found nowhere else in the bird world, a ritual now critically endangered by introduced predators.
Overview
The hooded grebe, Podiceps gallardoi, is a Critically Endangered waterbird confined to a small number of remote lakes on basalt plateaus in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Not formally described until 1974, it is among the most recently discovered bird species in South America, and its synchronized courtship display and precarious conservation status have made it one of the most closely studied grebes in the world.
A dance found nowhere else
Breeding pairs perform an elaborate, mirrored courtship ritual, rearing upright out of the water and matching each other’s movements in close synchrony, a display unique among the world’s grebes.
Status
Critically Endangered, with a wild population numbering only in the low hundreds. Introduced American mink and competing rainbow trout have devastated breeding colonies across its small range, making it one of the rarest grebes on Earth.
Hooded Grebe: common questions
Why is the hooded grebe called one of the last birds discovered in South America?
It was not formally described by scientists until 1974, decades after most other South American bird species, because its breeding lakes lie on remote, rarely visited Patagonian plateaus.
What makes the hooded grebe's courtship display unusual?
Breeding pairs perform an elaborate, tightly synchronized display, rearing upright and mirroring each other's movements in a routine unlike that of any other grebe species.
Why is the hooded grebe Critically Endangered?
Introduced American mink, originally released from fur farms, prey heavily on eggs and chicks, while introduced rainbow trout compete with adults for the aquatic invertebrates they depend on, together collapsing breeding success at many lakes.
Where does the hooded grebe live?
It breeds only on a small number of remote, windswept lakes on basalt plateaus in Santa Cruz Province, in Argentine Patagonia, migrating to coastal estuaries outside the breeding season.