The Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is the smallest, roundest and darkest of Sweden's grebes, a dumpy little waterbird often heard well before it is seen, its trilling, whinnying call carrying across overgrown ponds and reedy wetlands. It measures 23–29 cm with a wingspan of 40–45 cm and a weight of 130–230 grams — about the size of a Coot and clearly smaller than Sweden's other grebes — with a short, round, almost tailless body. In breeding plumage the upperside is dark brown, the neck sides and flanks rufous, and a pale yellow-green patch glows at the base of the short, dark, pale-tipped bill; winter birds turn greyer-brown and paler. It dives frequently and vanishes quickly into the reeds, its presence usually betrayed by its long, trilling, laugh-like call, "bi-bi-bi-bi-bi", often fading toward the end.
The species breeds in southern and central Sweden, concentrated on vegetation-rich lowland waters, with a population of roughly 1,500–3,000 pairs and a slightly increasing trend, aided partly by newly created wetlands and ponds. It is found on small lakes, ponds, reedy wetlands, park ponds and overgrown bays, and some birds winter on ice-free waters further south, often near coasts and river mouths. It builds a floating nest of water plants anchored in reeds, where the female lays 4–6 eggs; the striped, newly hatched young can climb onto a parent's back within their first days, and a good season can bring two broods. It feeds by diving in shallow water for small fish, insects and their larvae, crustaceans and other small aquatic animals.
Read about this species in Swedish →