The little grebe (Anas querquedula) belongs among the smaller grebes that can be observed in our country. From the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, the stretched length is 37 to 41 cm; the wingspan ranges from 59 to 67 cm. Adult males in breeding plumage are true dandies among grebes. From spring to summer we will recognize the male little grebe by the pronounced white stripe on its dark brown head. This white ’eyebrow’ runs above the eye across the shadows down to the nape and narrows toward the end. The cheeks, neck and chest are dark brown with a pattern of thin white lines. The belly and flanks are pale gray with a dark marbled pattern, the rear part of the body and tail are brownish gray and speckled with darker spots. To the refinement of its plumage they add sharpened, black-and-white outer flight feathers and a dark gray bill. After breeding the male molts and is very similar to the female. The female, as in other grebes, is camouflaged in coloration. The brown-speckled plumage allows her to remain inconspicuous during incubation. For the female little grebe the distinctive features are an entirely gray, long and relatively strong bill and a light patch beside it. A dark stripe runs over the eye, and above it there is also a light stripe.
The little grebe seeks its food both day and night. During the breeding season it is omnivorous, yet a larger part of its diet at that time consists of animals. It mainly hunts aquatic insects, especially their larvae, and it also likes crustaceans, leeches, and frog spawn. It also supplements its diet with various parts of aquatic and shore vegetation. After breeding the little grebe shifts to plant-based food. It most prefers seeds.
The little grebe is a pronounced migrant, which withdraws from its breeding areas far to the south before frost. It winters best in large flocks on extensive inland lakes with fresh or brackish water, which are richly overgrown with aquatic and littoral vegetation, but it also stays on rivers and floodplains, on shallow reservoirs and in salt marshes. During migration the little grebes often gather renewed strength for continuing their journey in coastal lagoons. They return to breeding areas between mid-March and May. They prefer to nest in flood meadows by small shallow lakes that are densely overgrown with aquatic and shore vegetation. The nest is hidden in a tuft of grass or reeds along the lakeshore.
On breeding grounds it is most threatened by the loss of suitable habitat due to the drying out of marsh areas. Among the young, a large mortality is caused by premature mowing of marsh grasses, and disturbances during the breeding season do not ease its survival either. This rarely nesting species is treated by the Slovenian Red List as a highly endangered species.
