Eared grebe or horned grebe - How do you tell?

Which grebe is which?  Can you tell?  Bottom right image from this source.

I have photographed both eared and horned grebes, but was under the mistaken assumption that they were all eared grebes.  Little did I know that I had confused two species as one, and that most of them were in fact horned grebes.  The red eye and dark plumage were each factors, and their non-breeding plumages look relatively similar.  Imagine my surprise when my Google Lens search for an image (top center) told me it was a horned grebe and not the eared variety, as I suspected.

It turns out that the four images on the left are all of horned grebes, and the only photo I have of an eared grebe is the one top right.  How is it possible that I mixed these species up?  I somehow don't think I am alone in this.

Below is a photo I took a few weeks ago in Red Deer, Alberta, of a horned grebe on a nest (top, center) and a horned grebe swimming in the water (top left).  The other three photos are from my files.  I do not have a good photo of an eared grebe showing the coloured "ears"; the only one I have is of the dark bird in the top right of the above image.  Below I have a comparison of the two species.  I borrowed an image from the website All About Birds (click here for image).

Horned grebe and eared grebe (inset) for comparison.

Now I know what to look for the next time I see a grebe with yellowish feathers poking up from around the eye.  If it is not in its breeding plumage though, all bets are off.  That could be a tad more difficult.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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