Description: This is a small, brown waterbird with a short neck and a short, thick, 'chicken-like' bill. With a puffy white rump, it looks almost tailless. In breeding season the males develop a black throat patch and a black ring around a pale bill. Their feet are flat and lobed.

Range: From southern Canada to Argentina.

Habitat: Found on freshwater lakes and ponds and in marshes. They can also be found in the ocean.

General: They fly with a laboured wingbeat and a sagging neck. They often stay close to the vegetation along the edges of the water and feed on small fish and aquatic insects. This bird may dive from the surface or just sink below to feed.

Bovey, Robin, Campbell, Wayne, and Gates, Brian. 1989. Birds of Victoria and Vicinity. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1990. Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, New York.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1994. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Chanticlear Press, Inc. New York, New York.

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