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Western grebes are large, skinny black-and-white birds with sharp bills and snaky necks. They feed on fish, breed on inland lakes, and closely resemble Clark's grebes, which have more yellow-orange bills and some white above the eye (especially in breeding season). These photos show the western grebe's long black-and-white neck, red eye, and pointed bill (note the variation in bill length and thickness). In breeding plumage, the black cap is more starkly and cleanly delineated from he white cheeks, throat, and neck than in winter. The pictures were taken on Mission Bay and Santee Lakes in San Diego, at Bolsa Chica in Orange County, Palo Alto, and the Salton Sea, all in California. The somewhat enigmatic birds at the bottom of the page may be Clark's-western hybrids: the bill is somewhat upturned as in Clark's, but is not the bright yellow-orange color typical of that species. |
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