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Which movements are part of grebe courtship displays?
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Grebe
Slavonian, or horned, grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Grebes engage in elaborate courtship displays to form and strengthen the pair bonds necessary for their shared parental duties. These rituals often involve a variety of specialized movements, including:
- Ritualized preening
- Head shaking
- Diving
- Weed carrying
- Rapid water treading (performed with the body in a nearly vertical position)
These individual actions are frequently combined into complex ceremonies, such as the "discovery ceremony" observed in species like the great crested grebe and the "rushing display" of the western grebe. In nearly all of these ceremonies, the roles of the sexes are interchangeable, and reverse mounting has been documented in thoroughly studied species.1