Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: scarce
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Somormujo lavanco

Photograph: caroline legg, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 46–51 cm
Wingspan: 85–90 cm
Weight: 925 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce resident in swamps. Very localised as a breeding species with 4-7 pairs (Cabrahigos reservoirs in Las Lomas) and more extensive while wintering.

Identification

The largest of the group. In flight, its rapid beating of wings is characteristic together with the contrast of white/dark colouring.

Movements

Migration hardly conspicuous. Prenuptial migration begins in February with peaks in March. Postnuptial migration begins in September with peaks in October and November.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

25 %

Peak in January. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 12 January 1983
Latest record: 31 December 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Same genus in the Strait

Black-necked Grebe28–34 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae
GBIF taxon key: 2482054

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: caroline legg, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Great Crested Grebe

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery