![\"western](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/western-grebe-2062b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/strong><\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nI photographed this adult Clark’s Grebe with two chicks at Bear River MBR a week ago. By the time the youngsters get this large there’s not enough room on the taxi for more than one chick\u00a0at a time so one of them\u00a0sometimes punts by holding on to the\u00a0rear end of the parent and hitching a ride by being pulled through the water by the adult. I’ve seen the behavior several times and photographed it\u00a0more than once but I’ve only seen it with larger chicks. When they’re small at least three of them can fit on the back of the parent\u00a0at the same time so at that age they don’t need to do it.<\/p>\n
But I don’t know how the chicks hold on because their heads are always covered by feathers of the adult. My suspicion is that they grasp feathers of the adult in their bill but there’s another possibility. The dark, almost black mass you see under the wing is the right foot of the adult – grebes\u00a0often fold their legs forward and place their lower legs and feet under their wings for warmth but here we can actually see that foot. Perhaps the chick has wedged part of its head between the leg and body of the adult in order to hold on. Or it’s even possible that it’s holding on to the leg of the adult with its bill instead of feathers. I just don’t know – it all depends on where the head actually is.<\/p>\n
But however chicks hold on in\u00a0this situation I haven’t\u00a0been able to find a\u00a0description of the behavior in the literature, despite the fact that other similar behaviors are described in some detail.<\/p>\n
It’s a little thing but little things often make me curious. That’s part of the fun of bird behaviors for me\u00a0– there’s always\u00a0small mysteries yet to be solved.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
PS – there’s something else interesting going on here. The chick on the back of the parent held this exact posture for more than 30 seconds. It was obviously looking into the water at or for something. Perhaps it was looking at its own reflection, even in this rough water. Or maybe it was just curious about what it might see in the depths. Or I suppose it’s even possible that at this age it had learned that food comes out of that wet stuff down there and it was hungry. Another little mystery…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I think I know what’s going on here but I don’t know exactly how it’s done.<\/p>\n