The Pied-billed grebe is a compact little grebe which, however, is larger than it seems at a distance (clearly larger than, for example, the Little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis). It subsists by diving for small animals such as insects, crustaceans and small fish. This individual in the port of San Diego exhibits the characteristic vertical black stripe across the bill - the feature that has given it its English trivial name: Pied-billed grebe.