Podilymbus podiceps
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of the grebe family of water birds primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas. The pied-billed grebe was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Colymbus podiceps. The binomial name is derived from Latin Podilymbus, a contraction of podicipes ("feet at the buttocks", from podici-, "rump-" + pes, "foot")—the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek kolymbos, "diver", and podiceps, "rump-headed", from podici- + Neo-Latin ceps.
Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, pied-bill, thick-billed grebe, and water witch. Since the extinction of the Atitlán grebe (Podilymbus gigas), the pied-billed grebe has become the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus. Outside its own genus, the closest relatives of the pied-billed grebe are the small grebes of the genus Tachybaptus. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 9 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Aquarium of the Pacific | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pied-billed Grebe sighting in Montreal on a given day, based on 3,107 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 65th most-seen of the 256 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pied-billed Grebe in Montreal on a given day, against under 5% in August and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pied-billed Grebe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
31st of 60
Of the 60 cities where we can rate Pied-billed Grebe sightings, Montreal ranks 31st at about 10%. The best odds are in Tijuana (México, about 40%), Mesa (United States, about 30%) and León (México, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pied-billed Grebe is recorded against all the birds logged in Montreal (3,107 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
