- Lifespan
- 15–20 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 46–51 cm, wingspan 59–80 cm; 900–1,500 g
- Habitat
- Freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and gravel pits with reed beds and open water for diving and courtship displays.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK on suitable water bodies; resident year-round with numbers boosted by continental migrants in winter.
- Diet
- Primarily small fish such as sticklebacks, perch, and roach; also takes aquatic insects and crustaceans.
- Prey
- Small freshwater fish (sticklebacks, perch, roach, trout fry), aquatic insects, and water beetles
- Predators
- Pike (in water), foxes, mink, and corvids (crows, ravens) targeting eggs and young; gulls may take chicks.
- Mating Season
- March to June
- Breeding
- Clutch of 3–4 eggs; incubation period 28–29 days; usually one brood per season; chicks are semi-precocial and ride on parents' backs.
- Behaviour
- Highly aquatic and rarely venture on land; famous for elaborate courtship displays involving synchronised head-shaking, breast-to-breast posturing, and weed-presenting duets. Highly territorial during breeding season and gregarious in winter, forming flocks on larger water bodies.