Little Grebe struggling with a large fish

Goh Pei Hao’s images of the Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) trying to swallow a fish (hosted on his Facebook) were photographed at Singapore Quarry on the afternoon of 14th December 2010 (above and below).

The Little Grebe generally feeds on insects mainly but also takes crustaceans, amphibians and fish. Limona & del Hoya (1992) report that the largest prey are fish of up to 11 cm in length. Apparently this fish proved too large for the Little Grebe to swallow as it was discarded and seen floating away (above right).

Reference:
Limona, F. & J. del Hoyo, 1992. Family Podicipedidae (Grebes). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 174-196.