Pied-billed
Grebe

Pied-billed grebes can trap and release air in their feathers to change their buoyancy, allowing them to slowly sink below the water surface until only their head is showing.

Both adults and chicks eat large amounts of their own feathers. The feathers form a plug in the stomach that traps sharp fish bones and protects the digestive tract.

They build anchor-free, floating nests made of cattails and marsh plants in shallow water.

Newborn chicks leave the nest almost immediately and spend their first week riding safely on their parents' backs—even while the parent dives underwater.