Juvenile Pied-billed Grebe

A quick, distant shot before this juvenile Pied-billed Grebe swam behind some bushes and trees at Carburn Park, on 2 September 2014.

"Part bird, part submarine, the Pied-billed Grebe is common across much of North America. These small brown birds have unusually thick bills that turn silver and black in summer. These expert divers inhabit sluggish rivers, freshwater marshes, lakes, and estuaries. They use their chunky bills to kill and eat large crustaceans along with a great variety of fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Rarely seen in flight and often hidden amid vegetation, Pied-billed Grebes announce their presence with loud, far-reaching calls." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pied-billed_grebe/id

"Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, thick-billed grebe, and water witch." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied-billed_grebe