White-tufted Grebe

The white-tufted grebe (Rollandia rolland), also known as Rolland's grebe, is a species of grebe in the family Podicipedidae. Found in the southern and western South America, its natural habitat is freshwater lakes, ponds and sluggish rivers and streams. == Taxonomy == Three subspecies are recognised: R. r. chilensis (Lesson, 1828) – Southern and western Peru and southeast Brazil southwards to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego. R. r. morrisoni (Simmons, 1962) – Lake Junin in the Andean highlands of central Peru. R. r. rolland (Gaimard, 1823) – Falkland Islands. The most notable difference between the subspecies is their sizes. R. r. rolland is almost flightless, and considerably larger (typically weighs about twice as much as R. r. chilensis) and with deeper rufous underparts than the other two subspecies. R. r. chilensis and R. r. morrisoni are very similar, but the former is on average smaller than the latter. R. r. rolland also has certain behavioral differences, including related to display and breeding. Historically it was often recognized as a separate species, to which the common name Rolland's grebe has been applied (leaving the name white-tufted grebe for the South American mainland species), and some recent authorities have supported its…