The Weed Ceremony
Southern California, USA
Grebe courting is a complicated yet predictable affair. Pairs of birds will exhibit a series of behaviors, including advertising calls, ratchet-pointing, the dip-shake splash, the dramatic, surface-running rushing, followed by the weed ceremony.
During the weed ceremony, each bird dives to pick up vegetation and surfaces with weeds in their beaks. Both then stand up in the water, facing each other, and approach closely. They then drop the plants and preen. This is a prelude to mating and nest building.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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