Grebes in Scotland
Our list for Scotland has 6 grebes recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 1 winter visitor and 2 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Scotland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 6, most common first
Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollisResidentUncommon23–29 cmRecorded all year
Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatusResidentUncommon46–51 cmRecorded all year
Horned GrebePodiceps auritusResidentUncommon31–38 cmRecorded all year
Red-necked GrebePodiceps grisegenaWinter visitorRare40–50 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Black-necked GrebePodiceps nigricollisPassage migrantRare28–34 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podicepsPassage migrantRare31–38 cmRegularly Mar–Jun
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Grebe 23–29 cm
- Black-necked Grebe 28–34 cm
- Horned Grebe 31–38 cm
- Pied-billed Grebe 31–38 cm
- Red-necked Grebe 40–50 cm
- Great Crested Grebe 46–51 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made