Little grebe named Swiss Bird of the Year 2024
BirdLife Switzerland has named the little grebe as Bird of the Year 2024. According to the organisation, the smallest local water bird and “little ball of feathers of our waters and wetlands” is a symbol of good water.
The little grebe can be found in Switzerland all year round, BirdLife said on Thursday. The bird with the conspicuous trill favours waters with plenty of shore vegetation and a good herb layer under water with a muddy substrate. However, it must not be too deep, but clear so that it can spot its prey. The little grebe feeds mainly on insects and their larvae; in winter it switches to small fish such as bullheads or perch.
+ Marsh warbler named Switzerland’s bird of the year 2023
The waterfowl spends its breeding season from April to June mainly at lower altitudes on the Central Plateau, according to the press release. This is also when its striking trill is used for courtship, which it also uses to defend its territory. In addition to its vocalisations, the little grebe impresses the other sex with various diving and imposing manoeuvres. The resulting five or so chicks are initially transported on their backs.
+ More than 140,000 migratory birds spotted in Switzerland
However, despite its wide distribution, the little grebe is not completely carefree: according to BirdLife, it is on the Swiss early warning list of the Red List of Threatened Species. According to the organisation, existing bodies of water must be kept in good condition in order to protect them.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
More
The Russia affair in the Swiss secret service: ‘This is espionage’
More
Is Switzerland repeating England’s housing mistakes?
More
What a love of cat ladders says about the Swiss
More
Swiss food labels must declare animal suffering from July
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.