English: Horned Grebe (Slavonian Grebe)
Russian: Красношейная поганка
German: Ohrentaucher
French: Grebe esclavon
Mongolian: Ухаа шунгуур
Japanese:ミミカイツブリ(Mimi-kaitsuburi)

Body length: 31-38 cm
Wing span: 46-55 cm

Passage migrant
Breeding season: May-August 

Egg number: 4 (occasionally 3)
Egg color: Whitish, unmarked
Brood: 1 per year

Global status: Least Concern
Regional status: Least Concern

Food: Aquatic invertebrates,l small fishes, rarely frogs and plant matter.

Habitat: Breeds, on shallow, well-vegetated lakes; accepts small ponds with little open water so long as they do not dry up in summer; also on clear, open ponds in uplands in N Fenno-Scandia. Winters on coastal waters, lakes, reservoirs, mainly at W European coasts.

Identification: Ratter small, about us large as a Teal. Longish neck, flat crown peaking at rear, flat-topped head when viewed head-on, and longish body give shape like miniature Great Crested rather than Little Grebe. ‘Powder puff’ rear end not usually so prominent as on Black-necked. Bill straight and rather short, often with pale tip. In flight, shows small white shoulder patch and white speculum confined to secondaries. Flight somewhat auk-like, path veering; migrants have habit or raising head high (at times feet too) in flight for a brief moment or longer.

Adult summer: Unmistakable, but in transition to or from summer plumage dark on ear-coverts can give pattern like winter Black-necked; at distance, reddish foreneck can look black.  

Adult winter: Sharply contrasting black-and-white pattern on head; neat black cap sharply demarcated from white cheeks, with rather straight division from bill through eye (no prominent dusky downward bulge on ear-coverts) and only slight if any ‘hook-back’ at nape; head-on, cap appears as forward-tilted ‘black beret’; from rear, very thin dark line down upper hindneck between ‘wrap-around’ white cheeks; dusky band across upper foreneck sometimes extensive (as on Black-necked); at close range, whitish spot on lores.  

Juvenile: Like adult winter, but with dusky band across cheek, slightly browner above, and with more extensive pale on bill-base.

Caution: Some individuals less well marked, and distance or bright light can give Black-necked more contrasting black, and white head pattern than usual.