Australasian Grebe

Australasian Grebe

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae

Silhouette: Tisha Mukherjee · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Litchfield National Park

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

30 Verified sightings at Litchfield National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,430 In all 17 parks
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Australasian Grebe

The Australasian grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) is a small waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family, along with the least grebe and little grebe.

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae, (Stephens, 1826) Tachybaptus novaehollandiae javanicus, (Mayr, 1943), Java Tachybaptus novaehollandiae fumosus, (Mayr, 1943), Talaud & Sangihe Islands Tachybaptus novaehollandiae incola, (Mayr, 1943), northern New Guinea

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae novaehollandiae, (Stephens, 1826), southern New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania & New Zealand Tachybaptus novaehollandiae leucosternos, (Mayr, 1931), Vanuatu & New Caledonia Tachybaptus novaehollandiae rennellianus, (Mayr, 1943), Rennell Island (Solomon Islands)

Both sexes are dark brown above with a glossy-black head and neck and a striking chestnut facial stripe, extending from behind the eye to the base of the neck. The eye is yellow, with a prominent pale yellow face spot below.

Both sexes are generally... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:11

Australia · 2022

© Marc Anderson · XC1001940 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Begging call0:28

Australia · 2022

© nick talbot · XC706134 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:53

Australia · 2017

© Greg McLachlan · XC381466 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
2 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
3 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
5 Flinders Ranges National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
8 Flinders Chase 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
9 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
10 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
11 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
12 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Maria Island National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
14 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
15 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
16 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
17 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Perth 🇦🇺 Australia
~50%
2 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
3 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
4 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
5 Auckland 🇳🇿 New Zealand
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Territory Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
2 Alice Springs Desert Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Australasian Grebe in Litchfield National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Grebe sighting in Litchfield National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 60th most-seen of the 110 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Australasian Grebe in Litchfield National Park?

November and December

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Australasian Grebe in Litchfield National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and October, the lowest months. Those are among Litchfield National Park's wettest months, with about 220 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.

What time of day is best to see an Australasian Grebe?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australasian Grebe sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Australasian Grebe sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Australasian Grebe is recorded against all the birds logged in Litchfield National Park (30 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.

← Back to Litchfield National Park