Red-necked grebes

The red-necked grebe is only red for about half the year. Its feathers are brown and grey throughout the winter, when it lives a low-key, quiet life in saltwater along North American and European coasts. But just before it migrates to a northerly lake, pond or swamp for breeding season, the plumage around the grebe's throat turns a distinctive red. Both males and females undergo the plumage change.
© Edo van Uchelen/Minden Pictures