Page 33 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

Grebe little

(Tachybaptus ruficollis)

The body weight is 110–370 g, the wing length is 90–111 mm. The general
coloration of the top is black-brown, the bottom is off-white. The cheeks and
front of the neck are chestnut-red, the sides of the body are black-brown with
light streaks. The beak is black with a whitish tip. The eyes are yellow, the eyes
are reddish-brown. Tarsus and feet are grayish green. The general coloration in
winter plumage is lighter and more diffuse. There is no chestnutred color on the
cheeks and in the front of the neck. There is no bright yellowgreen coloration
of the corner of the mouth.
It feeds mainly on adult insects and their larvae, molluscs, amphibian larvae
and small fish.
The main part of the range extends over the territory of the Korean Peninsula,
the Japanese Islands, East and South China, and the Indochina Peninsula. In
the Russian Far East, the grebe breeds on the South Kuril Islands. During the
period of summer-autumn movements, single birds were recorded in the south
of Sakhalin Island in the vicinity of the village. Okhotsk (Mordvi-nova Bay). In
addition, the Lesser Grebe was observed on Lake Iturup Island. Their nesting
was established on the islands of Kunashir, Tanfilieva and Yuri. On the island
of Kunashir, nests were found on the lake. Swampy, not far from the village
Golovnino. In recent years, broods of birds have been observed on Kunashir
Island.

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