Southern crested grebe / pūteketeke
The southern crested grebe is a very special native bird. Also called pūteketeke or kāmana in Te Reo Māori, they have some spectacular behaviours.
The name pūteketeke comes from the similarity of the bird’s black head crest to the tikitiki topknot hairstyle worn by Māori men of rank.
Limited distribution
Southern crested grebe / pūteketeke are found on less than 100 lakes and lagoons of the South Island, mostly in Canterbury and Otago. They were once found in the North Island too, but are now extinct there. This species is found in small numbers in parts of Australia where it is also known as the Australasian crested grebe.
Increasing numbers
A census of lakes and lagoons in January 2024 revealed a minimum population of 1,047 Southern crested grebe / pūteketeke. This is a 50% increase in their population since 2014 when 701 grebes were counted, and a 168% increase since the 2004 census.
Special features
Southern crested grebe / pūteketeke have evolved many special features…
True water birds
- Grebes can’t walk on land because their legs are located so far back.
- All their life is spent on the water, even when nesting.
- Specialised lobed feet help them to paddle, swim and dive.
- Floating nests are made from sticks, grass and aquatic plants.
Co-parenting
- Grebe pairs perform complex courtship rituals during the breeding months of September to March.
- Pairs dance on the water’s surface, carry plants in their beaks, fan out their head feathers and bump chests together.
- Nest-building and incubation are carried out by both the female and male.
- Chicks are cared for by both parents.
- Chicks ride on their parents’ backs from the day they hatch.
- Chicks stay with their parents for up to four months.
- Co-parenting behaviours improve breeding success.
Feasting on fish
- Grebes dive to find their food, preferring small fish and invertebrates.
- Pellets of indigestible food material and feathers are vomited out.
- Chicks are given small fish and feathers by both parents from day one.
Secretive flyers
- Although grebes can fly, this is rarely seen by people.
- It is likely that grebes fly mostly at night.
- Each winter, many grebes migrate between lakes, often from upland to lowland waterways.
Threats
Many factors continue to threaten the survival and breeding success of southern crested grebes…
- Predation of eggs, young chicks and adult birds by introduced mammals such as rats, stoats, hedgehogs, cats and dogs.
- Human activity in or near waterways, e.g. speeding boats, fishing, boat wake, water pollution, rubbish, animals, dog attacks, nest disturbance.
- Microplastics – the implications for grebes of microplastics in freshwater is currently being studied. As a top predator, grebes are likely to be affected.
- Land development and habitat changes around lakes and wetlands causes removal of suitable grebe nesting areas.
- Hydropower generation causes rapid fluctuations of lake levels – stranding or flooding the nests of grebes.
- Wetland destruction – more than 90% of NZ’s original wetlands are gone, drained for farming and development.
- Extreme weather; floods, high wind and severe storms are an issue during the nesting season.
- Starvation – some lakes lack a good supply of food for grebes, leading to starvation. A starving grebe may not fly to another area in search of food.
- Avian flu has not yet reached New Zealand but poses a threat to all of our birds, including grebes, should it arrive here.
- Plastic – ingestion of plastic bags, plastic pieces and fishing hooks which are all found in the lake are a growing threat.
Learn even more
Click below for more in-depth information about southern crested grebes and their lifecycle…
English names: Southern crested grebe / Australasian crested grebe
Māori names: Pūteketeke / Kāmana
Latin name: Podiceps cristatus australis
Family: Podicipedidae
Conservation Status in NZ: Threatened: ‘Nationally Vulnerable’ native species
Estimated total population: At least 1,047 (counted during the 2024 census). Grebe numbers have increased by nearly 50% over a 10 year period, with most of the growth occurring in the Otago region.
Distribution: Found only on lakes, lagoons and wetlands of the South Island; mostly in Canterbury and Otago. Occasionally visits harbours on the east coast and wetlands on the west coast during winter. Their population is increasing in the Queenstown Lakes region and on coastal Canterbury lakes. Grebes have declined in Nelson, Marlborough and Fiordland and are extinct in the North Island. This subspecies is also found in parts of Australia, breeding in the south east and south west.
Relatives: Southern crested grebes are a subspecies of the Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, found across the Eurasian continent and UK.
Description: Southern crested grebes / Pūteketeke are medium sized water birds. Both the male and female have a long, slim neck, sharp black beak and dark red eyes. They have a distinctive black double head crest, with striking chestnut and black cheek frills or ruffs which can be fanned out or flattened (NZ Birds Online).
Their feet have a peculiar lobed structure and their legs are set very far back on the body – a feature which increases their diving efficiency and speed. However, because of their leg positioning, grebes are unable to walk on land and are restricted to living their entire lives on water.
Voice: a range of loud growling, quiet grunting and barking calls that travel far across water.
Southern crested grebes / Pūteketeke may spend nearly half their year breeding, occasionally up to nine months – an astonishing amount. They usually arrive at nesting sites in September or October and soon start nest-building and laying eggs. It’s usual for pairs to have two or three clutches of eggs and they may continue breeding until March.
The courtship behaviour of grebes is famous for its complexity and beauty. It is most intense early in the breeding season when you may see them “running-dancing”. So fast is their footwork they literally run over the surface of the water. They meet face to face, turn their backs, dive and swim under water in opposite directions for 5-6 metres and rise out of the water simultaneously, each with a beak full of lake weed (nesting material), that they often exchange with each other and place on the nest. They also display synchronised swimming, chest-bumping, preening, flapping, head shaking and fanning out their feathery ruffs.
Nesting: Pairs work together to build a floating nest near the edge of a lake, usually attached to a submerged stump, tree roots, reeds, or low branches of a tree. Nesting material includes sticks, twigs, leaves, aquatic plants, feathers and even human rubbish such as rope, string or plastic. New material is added regularly by both parents during the nesting period.
In Lake Wānaka, our grebes have the luxury of tailor-made floating platforms on which to build their nests. These platforms are either attached to the marina structure or anchored to the lake bed just offshore. Platforms keep the nests floating, even if the lake level rises due to heavy rain or falls because of drought.
Eggs: Females lay 2-5 white eggs on a floating nest, with 3-4 eggs being most commonly seen. Egg-laying typically occurs between September and February, although in Lake Wānaka we have occasionally seen eggs in early June and in late March. Eggs are laid asynchronously (not at the same time) with one egg laid every day or two. The average egg size is 56mm x 37mm. Eggs are incubated by both parents for 24-26 days and begin to make “peeping” sounds just prior to hatching.
Chicks are strikingly coloured and climb onto its parent’s back within an hour or two of hatching, often hiding completely among the feathers. This delightful behaviour is special to grebes and makes great photography.
Once all the eggs hatch, the grebe parents depart the nesting area with chicks on board and head off to other parts of the lake to raise them. In Lake Wānaka, there are plenty of shallow bays around the southern part of the lake where grebe families can find food and shelter from the wind.
Juveniles: The head and neck of older juveniles is striped black and white, while the body plumage is greyish/light brown. Their eyes are yellow. After learning to dive and hunt, they become independent in autumn (March to May). It is likely that grebes don’t breed in their first year.
Courtship dance:
Grebe parenting in England (same species but a different sub-species)
New Zealand Geographic