Widespread, small pale grebe of lakes and reservoirs, often with no surrounding vegetation; nests mainly in colonies, locally by the hundreds. The southern population also occurs in coastal waters in winter. Often looks mostly white at a distance, unlike the darker White-tufted Grebe. The southern population has a silvery-blond hood (reduced in young and nonbreeding birds) and a grayish throat while the northern Andean population has a blond-streaked cap, a white throat, and looks the same year-round. Also note vocal differences between southern and northern populations.