The Great Crested Grebe is a river bird that resides in Western and Northern Europe (including the UK). As of 2015 there were about 4,600 pairs of Great Crested Grebes nesting in the UK, though these numbers greatly increase when the European birds migrate here over winter. They can be found living in most parts of the UK, near large lakes, reservoirs, and flooded gravel pits.
Fig. 1 Great Crested Grebe by Sally Grant
The Great Crested Grebe is very well adapted to its environment. As a water bird it needs to be an excellent swimmer. Its feet are placed far back on its body to help it swim; however, this means it’s a bit unsteady when walking on dry land. Like most birds it’s a digitrade – this means it walks on its long toes and not its feet. The Great Crested Grebe has developed special toes to aid its swimming. It is lobate – this means its three front toes are edged with lobes of skin – it also has a bit of webbing between each toe like a duck. The webbing and lobes increase the surface area of the toes so they can catch more water.
They act as paddles to help the bird to swim faster both on and under the water. This makes it excellent at catching fish and other small prey, like insects and the occasional frog.
Fig 2: Dénes, E. (2011). Bird (Aves) feet at the Natural History Museum in London, England.
On the top Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) and on the bottom mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ma_-_bird_feet_2.jpg. [Accessed 7th November 2025 sg].
The Great Crested Grebe that we have in our collection is wearing its summer breeding finery. That brilliant ruff and crest, absent the rest of the year, is designed to show off and attract a mate. The Great Crested Grebe has an elaborate dance where the two potential mates shake their heads and crests from side to side. This mating display demonstrates the mates’ closeness with each other, and also signals to other couples that this territory has been claimed.
Fig 3: Pierre-Marie Epiney, CC BY-SA 2.
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Parade_nuptiale_de_gr%C3%A8bes_hupp%C3%A9s.jpg
[Accessed 7th November 2025 sg]
After completing this mating dance the Great Crested Grebes work together to build a nest on the water’s edge. The average Great Crested Grebe has one brood per year and the usual clutch size is 3-4 eggs. Both parents help to incubate the eggs until they hatch after roughly a month. The Great Crested Grebe is not sexually dimorphic – this means there is no visual difference between the male and female of the species.
According to our Accession Register, our Great Crested Grebe was donated to the museum by a Miss Penrose in 1932. It is unclear whether it was Miss Marcia or Miss Frances Penrose, as both became members of the BNSS in 1916. Miss Penrose gave many other specimens to BNSS at that time. Marcia Penrose went on to be a BNSS Vice-President in 1938-1939 and was Chairman of our Physical Section, for a while. It is highly likely that the specimens had belonged to Dr. Francis G. Penrose (1857-1932): the father of the two women.
Fig 4: Great Crested Grebe Eggs
(photo taken by Antonia Plummer)
Francis Penrose was the BNSS President from 1921-1923 and also Chairman of our Zoology Section. He left his position as consulting physician at Great Ormond Street in 1905 and retired to Bournemouth in the same year. Here he could indulge in his love of natural history. He was a leading member of the British Ornithological Club and a pioneer in colour photography of animals and bird life.
