Subject: The Little Grebe that Could
Date: Oct 26 21:12:00 1998
From: "Jim McCoy" - jfmccoy at earthlink.net


Actually, it was a pied-billed grebe, not the Old World little grebe, but
whatever its name, it certainly could.

Last weekend we watched as a pied-billed grebe struggled for a few minutes
to control a fish that looked almost as big as itself. We watched with
amusement (and a little concern) as he tried to swallow it, and with awe as
he succeeded! We couldn't measure of course, but I think it's very
conservative to say that, even with a "flatter" body shape, this fish took
up something like a third of the bird's volume. I'm not versed in
Washington freshwater fish, but it looked like the bluegills/sunnies that I
was familiar with back east.

Neither we nor he could quite believe he ate the whole thing; the little guy
looked traumatized afterwards and didn't move an inch in the ten or fifteen
minutes that we lingered there after he had finished.

Given the greater density of the fish, the p.-.b.g. may have nearly doubled
his weight in a single swallow. Think about that and skip the guilt the
next time you're counting dessert calories!

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA