© Arthur Grosset
The Great Crested Grebe is distributed throughout most of Europe and across southern Asia to China.
It is also found in Australasia and parts of Africa. Breeding is carried out in areas of fresh or brackish water
with surrounding vegetation. Outside the breeding season it is to be seen at the coast or on large lakes.


Photo: Klaus Enslin, Wikimedia

In breeding plumage it has a large black crest with black and rufous tippets.
Sexes are similar but the female shows a shorter bill, a shorter crest and smaller tippets.
Non-breeding adults lack the tippets.


Photo: Lukasz Lukasik, Wikimedia
The Great Crested Greber, is No.1 in diving, but also on top when it comes to playing submarine, which it does
when it is threatened. Then you can barely only see its head over the surface of the water.

  
Great crested grebe chicks with adults and territorial defence and courtship
I - Granada Wild, c/o ITN Source, London
II - BBC Natural History Unit
http://www.arkive.org


Great crested grebe diving and flying
Granada Wild, c/o ITN Source, London
http://www.arkive.org/


Wikimedia
Often you may see adults swimming with their chickens on their back, and when they dive,
the chickens grab a good hold, and sit there till they are back on the surface.
There is a very beautiful picture of a bird with its chickens on the back here (click)