Doing the Penguin

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Great Crested Grebes perform their amazing 'Penguin Dance' in February. It's all part of an elaborate courtship display which starts with a lot of head shaking and fluffing out their head crest feathers.


The performance ends with both birds rising up on the water, paddling like crazy, and presenting each other with a piece of pond weed. In this upright position the birds resemble a pair of penguins.

AWW very interesting