![\"pied-billed-grebe-2473-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2473-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI know of no bird\u00a0that is more inclined to attempt to steal food from other members of its own species than Pied-billed Grebes (although gulls are right up there too). When one of them catches a fish chances are\u00a0excellent that another grebe will move in and try to take it away. They’re almost obsessed with thievery and if the fish is a\u00a0relatively large one that\u00a0can’t\u00a0be swallowed\u00a0easily and quickly the potential thief has more time and opportunity to snatch it away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n A week ago I watched as this grebe surfaced with a fish at Farmington Bay WMA. The fish was so large that the bird had great difficulty getting it down the hatch. It tried frantically to swallow it before an interloper moved in but…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n those plans didn’t work out. Here we see the rightful fish owner beginning to put on a burst of speed as another grebe approaches from the right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The potential thief really pushed the issue…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n to the point that the first grebe had to repeatedly run across the water with its prize.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n That happened time and again over a period of about a minute.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Here the first grebe is keeping a close eye on the aggressor so it can put on another burst of speed when it gets too close.<\/p>\n Eventually the grebe with the fish dived with it and I don’t know for sure what happened after that. The fish may have been swallowed underwater or it may have been released because it was just too large to swallow.<\/p>\n Kleptoparasitism may be intraspecific\u00a0(both birds are the same species) or interspecific\u00a0(the parasite is a different species from the victim) but I’ve seldom (if ever)\u00a0seen Pied-billed Grebes try to abscond with food belonging to another species.<\/p>\n Perhaps that’s because these grebes are usually the smallest birds on the pond.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I know of no bird that is more inclined to steal food from other members of its own species than Pied-billed Grebes.<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-2492-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2492-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-2505-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2505-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-2508-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2508-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-2537-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2537-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pied-billed-grebe-2579-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pied-billed-grebe-2579-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n