Gould observed 'when fully adult, both sexes are adorned with the beautiful tippet and ear-tufts; but as soon as the breeding season is over, they are again thrown off, and their livery is very similar to that of the Dabchick Podiceps minor.'

In the illustration the male (foreground) and female are in summer plumage, with a nest and eggs. Perched on a flowering Common Bulrush Scirpus lacustris is a Bearded Tit Calamophilus Biarmicus.

DISTRIBUTION: Circumpolar distribution breeding north Eurasia and North America. Winters south to France, Italy, Black, Caspian and Aral seas, south China, Japan and southern United States. In Britain the first proven breeding was in 1908 in Invernesshire; since then a small breeding population has become established