Great crested grebe

A bird of the order P. grisegena in the class Aves, family Petridae. It is found in Europe, China, Mongolia, the Ussuri region of southern Siberia, and North Africa, with other subspecies found in tropical Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It breeds in large freshwater swamps and spends the winter in bays close to the shore. It dives underwater to catch fish. It is 56.5 cm long, has a long neck, and in its summer plumage has fan-shaped cheek feathers and ear-like feathers. It can also be distinguished from the Red-necked Grebe P. grisegena , which is in the same genus, by its distinctive facial features, white brow bands and a black band connecting the eyes and beak. In Japan, breeding cases have been known to occur in Ichiyanagi Swamp and its surrounding areas in Aomori Prefecture since 1972 (Showa 47). Recently, sightings have been increasing, and they have sometimes been seen in large groups in inland lakes such as Lake Sayama in Saitama Prefecture and Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, as well as from the Sea of ​​Japan coast to Kyushu, such as Lake Shinji in Shimane Prefecture.

[Nagahisa Kuroda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鳥綱カイツブリ目カイツブリ科の鳥。ヨーロッパから中国、モンゴル、南シベリアのウスリー地方、北アフリカに分布し、熱帯アフリカとオーストラリア、ニュージーランドに別亜種がある。広い淡水沼に繁殖し、冬は江湾のやや岸近くで越冬する。水中に潜って魚をとる。全長56.5センチメートル、頸(くび)が長く、夏羽では扇状の頬(ほお)羽と耳状羽をもっている。また、眉帯(びたい)が白く目と嘴(くちばし)が黒帯で連なる顔面の特徴で、同属のアカエリカイツブリP. grisegenaと区別できる。日本では、青森県の市柳(いちやなぎ)沼とその周辺で1972年（昭和47）以来繁殖例が知られる。最近では観察例が増え、島根県の宍道湖(しんじこ)など日本海側から九州にかけ、また埼玉県の狭山湖(さやまこ)、滋賀県の琵琶湖(びわこ)など内陸の湖でも、ときにかなりの群れでみられている。

［黒田長久］

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