📸 PhotoPhoto: Zeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollis (Little Grebe · カイツブリ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of 26 cm is slightly shorter than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is observed on wetlands such as reservoirs and rivers nationwide, and its numbers grow in winter as migrating flocks arrive (National List of Species of Korea).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Little Grebe is the smallest grebe in Korea and can be seen year-round on reservoirs and rivers nationwide.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It has a plump, rounded body with a dark brown crown and back and yellow eyes. In breeding plumage its cheeks and foreneck are rufous-chestnut, turning buff-brown in winter.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It dives underwater to catch aquatic insects and small fish. It builds a floating nest of plant stems and roots and incubates its eggs for 20–25 days, and chicks leave the nest right after hatching to follow their parents.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is a common resident and winter visitor seen on wetlands and reservoirs across Korea; formerly classified only as a winter visitor, it is now treated as a resident bird after breeding was confirmed nationwide, with wintering flocks from the north increasing numbers in winter.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2025) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696545/281865439
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 281865439
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001501 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001501
- • wikidata.org — Q25421
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis 15-1.jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Tisha Mukherjee · CC BY 4.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.