Sign in to see your badges. Fairly common but often inconspicuous small diving bird of wetlands with bordering reeds and other vegetation. Often remains out of sight; less often out on open water mainly in winter. Rather compact, with rounded head, puffy rear end.
Seen mainly as singles and small loose flocks, often sleeping during the day. Breeding plumage often looks dark overall; in good light note dark rusty head and neck sides with yellow patch at base of bill.
Nonbreeding plumage dingy pale brownish overall with dark cap. Naturalized : Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases including vagrants from Naturalized populations.
These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee s. Provisional : Either: 1 member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2 rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.
When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance".
