Quite common in water Belarus you can see a waterfowl with an unusual collar - this Great grebe, better known as Chomga. For our latitudes, the bird is considered migratory; it returns to nesting in late March - early April. Spends all the time on the water and almost never comes ashore, and rarely flies.
Large grebes are slightly inferior in size to a duck and usually do not exceed 50 centimeters.
Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is easily recognizable due to its long dark red neck and tufts of feathers on its head, which resemble a fancy hat (by the way, they are absent in winter). In addition, the bird has an elongated beak and rich red eyes.
It is especially interesting to observe the grebe bird in the spring, when the mating season begins. The male and female arrange a real performance on the water with loud calls and “dances”.
It is not surprising that these birds and chicks look strange, but cute: they have a striped black and white color of the neck, reminiscent of a zebra in color.
You can meet Great Grebe on many reservoirs; these birds build small nests far from the coast.
