The Eared Grebe is the most abundant grebe in the world and undergoes an extraordinary annual transformation — it becomes nearly flightless while staging in massive flocks on saline lakes like Mono Lake and the Great Salt Lake, where it gorges on brine shrimp and doubles its body weight. Its organs actually shrink and expand as it shifts between active and sedentary phases.
Habitat
Prairie lakes in summer; saline lakes and coastal bays in winter
Diet
Aquatic invertebrates, especially brine shrimp
How common
Common
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