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As he spoke he bobbed and dipped like a dabchick or little grebe.

The grey heron is the collateral damage here: it joins the avocet, little grebe and ringed plover among the birds that would be endangered by a four-runway behemoth appearing off the Isle of Sheppey.

This little grebe comes of a splendid line of ancestors, some of which were even more specialised for an aquatic life.

Again, the head of the great or crested grebe passes, while that of the little grebe sticks.

The plumage of this little grebe varies according to the time of year.