Red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is 40 to 46 cm long. It is somewhat smaller and stockier than the great crested grebe, which is more common here. In its summer plumage we cannot confuse it with the great crested grebe, as then its neck is shorter and stouter brownish, the throat and cheeks are white, the crown and forehead are black. The base of its conical black bill is yellow. In winter the two species are quite similar, with the difference that the cheeks and neck of the red-necked grebe are darker, with less whiteness. Like other grebes, it dives well and hunts prey underwater. It feeds on aquatic invertebrates, such as insects, crayfish and molluscs, and it also preys on fish, which can seasonally or locally constitute a larger part of its diet.
Red-necked grebe is a migratory bird that, for nesting, prefers smaller, shallow water bodies with dense fringe vegetation, which provide it shelter and border on open water surfaces. It prefers to nest on smaller lakes in a forested landscape or in the tundra high in the far north of the globe, a suitable nesting environment can also be found on river deltas and in coastal lagoons. Before nesting, like the great crested grebe, the pair perform a courtship dance. During it the birds rise from the water and approach each other with their bills. It builds a floating nest from plant material and attaches it to submerged or floating vegetation. Although the red-necked grebe, during the nesting period, proclaims its joy to its partner with loud calls, sighs, and croaks, we will rarely see it. The red-necked grebe is, in fact, a shy bird that tends to keep to itself and does not like to show itself.
After breeding, it migrates singly or in smaller flocks to spend the winter in western and southern Europe. The cold part of the year it prefers to spend at sea, where large flocks stay in shallow, fish-rich waters. In Slovenia it occurs year-round, nesting has been confirmed only at Lake Cerknica. In winter a larger number of red-necked grebes from northeastern Europe join the handful of pairs that nest in our country.
The existence of the red-necked grebe is mainly threatened by changes and degradation of water bodies, i.e., loss of its habitat. Disturbances in the timing of nesting also have a strongly negative effect on nesting success.
