''Tachybaptus'' is a genus of small members of the

grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

family

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. The genus name means "quick diving": it is from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''takhys'' "quick" and ''bapto'' "I dip". It has representatives over much of the world, including the tropics. These grebes breed in small colonies in heavily vegetated areas of freshwater lakes. They may move to more open or coastal waters when not breeding, and birds in those areas where the waters freeze may be migratory. Like all grebes, they nest on the water's edge, since the legs are set very far back and they cannot walk well. The striped young are sometimes carried on the adult's back. These small grebes are excellent swimmers and divers, and pursue their

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

prey underwater. The sexes are similar: dumpy and short-billed with a “powder puff” rear end. Adults have a distinctive breeding plumage and loud breeding calls. In winter, they are grey and white. The five Old World species are closely related to each and at least three have interbred. Unlike these, the

least grebe The least grebe (''Tachybaptus dominicus''), an aquatic bird, is the smallest member of the grebe family. It occurs in the New World from the southwestern United States and Mexico to Argentina, and also on Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and the ...

lacks chestnut colouring on the neck, and has formerly been placed in at least three other genera.

Species

References

* Olgilvie and Rose, ''Grebes of the World'' * Harrison, Peter ''Seabirds: An Identification Guide'' Podicipedidae Bird genera Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach {{Podicipediformes-stub