Clark's grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) is a North
American species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was
thought to be a pale morph of the western grebe, which it
resembles in size, range, and behavior. Intermediates between the two species
are known.
The "Clark" of its common name—and its specific
epithet "clarkii"—honor John Henry Clark, a 19th-century American
surveyor who was also a naturalist and collector. The genus name Aechmophorus comes
from the Ancient Greek words "aichme", meaning spear, and
"phoros", meaning someone who bears things around; it refers to the
bird's long, daggerlike beak.
This species nests on large inland lakes in western North
America and migrates to the Pacific coast in winter. It
maintains local populations year-round in California, Nevada, Arizona-(the Lower Colorado
River Valley), and central Mexico. It feeds by diving for carp, herring, mollusks, crabs,
and salamanders.
It performs the same elaborate courtship display as the
western grebe.
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