Podiceps cristatus

The Great Crested Grebe is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) because of the extremely small size of the breeding population. In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as extinct as Regionally Extinct (RE). The improvement in the threat category reflects the change in the population, which returned to nest in Israel naturally without the help of specific conservation or restoration efforts.

Habitats	Wetland Thickets
Presence In Israel	Winter Visitor, Resident
Nesting In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Short Range / Partial
Zoography Zones	Mediterranean
Landscape Formations	Swamps, Wetlands, Freshwater Bodies
Vegetation Densities	Medium, High
Nest Locations	Wetland Thickets
Diet Types	Invertebrate, Fish
Foraging Grounds	Water
Body Sizes	Large (over 1000g)
Threat Factors	Wetland Drainage & Pollution

The Great Crested Grebe is the largest grebe in our region, and can be identified by its long white neck and black-capped crested head. Grebes have an impressive courtship display in which the pair perform a synchronized dance on the water surface. The species feeds on fish, crustaceans, water insects and amphibians.

The Great Crested Grebe is a rare summer breeder in water reservoirs at the Jezreel Valley and the Golan Heights. It also is a relatively common winter visitor and passage migrant in northern and central Israel, particularly at Sea of Galilee (up to 2,000 individuals were counted in winter water bird censuses). Tens of pairs once nested in the Hula Valley and a few pairs nested in the Jezreel Valley, in the northern Jordan Valley, the northern Coastal Plain and the Carmel coast. Nesting gradually ceased after the Hula marshes were drained (during the 1950s). In the 1970s and 1980s, a few pairs of grebes were seen over-summering but there was no evidence of breeding. In recent years, small numbers of Great Crested Grebes returned to breed in Israel and families with young were observed in a number of reservoirs in the Jezreel Valley and the southern Golan Heights.

Medium-sized and large water bodies in the Mediterranean region. Over-winter in lakes, reservoirs, large fishponds and on the seacoast. Breeds in freshwater ponds and reservoirs surrounded by dense vegetation.

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

The continued existence of the species as a breeder in Israel depends on the existence of water reservoirs surrounded by extensive vegetation thickets. Therefore, vegetation thickets should be allowed to develop around water reservoirs, particularly in northern Israel.

The continued existence of the species as a breeder in Israel depends on the existence of water reservoirs surrounded by extensive vegetation thickets. Therefore, vegetation thickets should be allowed to develop around water reservoirs, particularly in northern Israel.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International