Sungrebe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sungrebe
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Heliornis
Species:	fulica
Range map

The sungrebe (Heliornis fulica) is a small bird that loves water. It lives in warm, wet parts of the Americas, from Mexico all the way down to Brazil.

This bird is the only living member of its group, Heliornis. It belongs to a special family called Heliornithidae. This family has only two other types of birds: the African finfoot and the masked finfoot. These relatives live in Africa and Asia.

Sungrebes have wide, lobed feet, like grebes or coots. They use these feet to push themselves through the water. They are shy birds and prefer quiet, slow-moving streams and hidden waterways. Sometimes, they swim with only part of their body showing, like an Anhinga.

One amazing thing about sungrebes is that the males have "pouches." These are folds of skin under their wings. They use these pouches to carry their babies from the moment they hatch. The chicks stay there until they are old enough to swim on their own. Because of this, some people call them "Marsupial Birds."

About the Sungrebe's Name

The sungrebe was first described in 1781 by a French scientist named Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. He saw a bird from French Guiana. Later, in 1783, a Dutch scientist named Pieter Boddaert gave it the scientific name Colymbus fulica.

Today, the sungrebe is the only bird in the group Heliornis. This group was named by Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in 1791. The name Heliornis comes from ancient Greek words. Hēlios means "sun" and ornis means "bird." The second part of its scientific name, fulica, is a Latin word for "coot." There are no different types or subspecies of sungrebes.

Scientists have studied the sungrebe's family, Heliornithidae, to understand where it fits in the bird family tree. Early studies looked at their DNA. They thought finfoots might be related to limpkins or cranes. But newer genetic tests suggest that finfoots are more closely related to rails.

It seems that finfoots might have started in Africa. Then, they spread to Asia and eventually crossed a land bridge (called Beringia) into North America. From there, they moved into South America. This idea helps explain why finfoots are not found in Australia. It also explains why sungrebes are common in the Americas but not on most Caribbean islands.

What Sungrebes Look Like

The female sungrebe is a small, slender bird. She is about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. Sungrebes have special lobed toes. Their feet and legs have bold yellow and black stripes.

Most of their body feathers are reddish-brown. Their head and neck have a striking pattern. They have a black crown (top of the head) and nape (back of the neck). White stripes run along the sides of their neck, and their throat and chin are white. Their long tail is almost one-third of their total length. It sticks out far behind them when they fly. When they swim, their tail spreads out on or just below the water's surface.

During the breeding season, females have a reddish patch on the side of their face. This patch turns a bright cinnamon-orange color. Her eye ring also becomes brighter, and her lower beak changes from dark red to bright scarlet. Females are slightly shorter than males. They have a slightly smaller wingspan (about 13.77 cm or 5.4 inches). But they are a bit heavier, weighing about 130 to 140 grams (4.6 to 4.9 ounces).

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  Female in breeding plumage. Note the orange cheek patch and red bill.

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  Female in breeding plumage

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  Female

Male sungrebes look similar to females. However, their colors are a bit duller. Males do not have the bright orange-red patch on their cheeks like females. During the breeding season, the male's lower beak turns dark red from pale beige. But it does not get as bright as the female's. Males are usually a bit longer than females. They have a wider wingspan (about 14.1 cm or 5.5 inches). But they are lighter, weighing about 110 to 140 grams (3.9 to 4.9 ounces).

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  Male in breeding plumage. Note the duller overall plumage, the duller red bill, and the lack of a cheek-patch.

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  Male. Note that his bill has turned beige-white out of breeding season

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  Male

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  Head and foot of a female

Young sungrebes (juveniles) look like the males. But they are a bit smaller. Their body feathers are grayer, and they have more white on their cheeks and neck.

Where Sungrebes Live

Sungrebes live in places with lots of plants and fresh water. These include wetlands, quiet streams, and lakes. You can find them from northeast Mexico, along the Gulf and Caribbean coasts, through Panama. They also live along the Pacific coast from Panama to central Ecuador. They are common throughout the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in South America. They also live in the Pantanal and the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforests.

Sungrebes usually live in low areas, from sea level up to about 500 meters (1,640 feet). They do not migrate, meaning they stay in the same areas all year round.

Sungrebes seem to be spreading their range further north in Mexico. They used to be found only as far north as central Veracruz. But now they are seen in San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas. In 2008, a sungrebe was even seen in New Mexico, USA. This was the first time one had been recorded in the United States!

Sungrebe Life and Habits

Reproduction and Life Cycle

The sungrebe's mating season starts in mid-April. This is during the early "wet season." Breeding happens when there is a lot of rain and high water levels. This floods their habitat and creates low-hanging plants. Sungrebes like to build their nests in these plants.

Female sungrebes have brighter colors and are heavier. Males are the main caregivers for the young. This suggests that females might try to attract males. However, scientists have not yet seen this happen. Both male and female birds help build the nest. They use twigs, reeds, and dried leaves. The nest is a simple platform built about one meter (3 feet) above the water.

A female usually lays two to four eggs. The eggs are round and have a creamy white to light brown color. They have irregular dark cinnamon, reddish-brown, and pale purple spots. The eggs hatch very quickly, in only 10 to 11 days. Both parents share the job of incubating the eggs. The female sits on the nest for most of the day and all night. The male incubates the eggs during the middle part of the day.

Unlike their relatives, the African and Asian finfoots, sungrebe chicks are born helpless. They are blind and have only a few fuzzy feathers. Their feet and beaks are not fully developed. They are covered with soft, slate-gray down feathers with a white belly and throat. Their beak is slate-gray with a pale yellow tip.

The Male's Pouch

Diagram of chick inside pouch; dotted lines show feather wall that holds chick in pouch

Male sungrebes have a special pouch. It is a shallow, oval-shaped pocket. It is made of strong, muscular skin folds under their wings. Long, curved feathers grow upwards and backwards from the side of the chest. These feathers form a wall that helps hold the chicks in place. The male can even carry his babies while diving or flying! The bird seems to be able to control the shape of these folds. This allows him to make them more or less firm. Each pouch can hold one or two chicks.

Males move the chicks into their pouches soon after they hatch. They keep them there, feeding them and cleaning up their waste. The chicks stay in the pouch until they can swim and find food on their own. After leaving the pouch, the chicks often follow their father, and sometimes their mother. They might even ride on their backs. We don't know how much the mothers help care for the young after they hatch.

It is not known if other finfoot species have these pouches. They are hard to see on preserved bird specimens. Since no other bird species is known to have pouches, scientists are still learning how this special feature evolved. However, in Jacanas, another water bird, males also do most of the parenting. Jacana chicks are often sheltered and even carried under the male's wings. This might be how the sungrebe's pouch first started to develop.

Food and Feeding

Sungrebes like quiet forest streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. These places must have thick plants hanging over the water. Here, they hunt for snails and different types of insects that live on land or in water. They also eat small fish, frogs, and lizards. Sometimes, they eat plant material, like seeds and fruit.

Most of their hunting happens on or just above the water's surface. They might make short dives to catch fish or frogs. They also hunt from low branches hanging over the water.

Sungrebes usually live alone or in pairs. They do not migrate with the seasons. However, they might move from dry areas to flooded ones within their range. We do not know how far young sungrebes travel after they leave their parents. We also do not know if one sex travels farther than the other. Interestingly, sungrebes found far from their usual homes have often been females.

Scientists also do not have much information about how long sungrebes live. They also don't know how old they are when they first start breeding. And they don't know how many young sungrebes survive.

Conservation Status

The sungrebe lives in a very large area. People do not hunt them directly. Because of this, the IUCN says the sungrebe is a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently at high risk of disappearing. Their expansion into new areas in the north seems to support this idea.

However, we still don't know much about sungrebe populations. We don't know what risks they face. We also don't know if they are one big, healthy population or many smaller, more vulnerable ones. Tropical wetlands, where sungrebes live, are often used for farming or hydroelectric projects. Sungrebes prefer hidden places and avoid humans. This might make it hard for them to adapt to the fast growth of cities in Latin America. Still, sungrebes seem to be doing much better than their relatives in other parts of the world.

Local Names

• English: Sungrebe, American Finfoot
• Spanish: Ipequí, Avesol Americano, Colimbo-selvático Americano, Pájaro Cantil, Pájaro del Sol, Patas Lobuladas, Pato Cantil, Zambullidor-Sol
• Portuguese: Ipequi, Pequi, Picaparra, Marrequinha-do-Igapó, Mergulhão, Patinho-de-Igapó, Ananai, Dom-dom
• Guarani: Ypeky
• Wayampi: Pẽkĩ
• Emerillon: Pẽki
• Makushi: Yawiwa
• Warao: Oranih
• Sranan: Watra-en
• Guianese Creole: Souroukou
• Karipúna Creole: Dondon
• French: Picpare, Grébifoulque d'Amérique, Grébifoulque de Cayenne
• Dutch: Kleine Fuutkoet

Fossil History

Scientists found a 14-million-year-old fossil bone in North Carolina, USA. This bone was from a sungrebe. It is the oldest known finfoot fossil ever found. This discovery made scientists wonder about the sungrebe's past. Did their ancestors move into North America from South America a long time ago? Or did they come across a land bridge from Asia and then move south when the Isthmus of Panama formed?