Bell Museum: Grebes, Buffalofish and Carp by Tom Nelson

Canon PowerShot G10

Western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) are diving birds. They cannot walk on land and rarely fly except during migration. Grebes build a floating nest of aquatic plants, and their young are able to swim and dive within an hour or two of hatching. As soon as the eggs hatch, the chicks crawl onto one of the parent's back as you see here. Note the bald spot on the chick's head. When the chick is content, the spot is yellow, but it turns red when the chick is alarmed or hungry.

In the mating season, grebes compete for mates by "rushing" -- a synchronized dash across the surface of the water. You can see two grebes rushing in the background of this panorama.

Bigmouth buffalofish (Ictiobus cyprinellus), a member of the sucker family, grow up to 50 pounds in size. Carp (Cyprinus carpio) are similar in appearance, but they are members of the minnow family and not closely related. Both are bottom feeders. Although disdained by many anglers, both carp and buffalofish are commercially harvested for food in Minnesota.

This diorama was constructed by John Jarosz. The background was painted by Francis Lee Jaques (pronounced "JAY-kwees"). It was a gift to the museum from Mrs. J.G. Cohen.
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