[EBB Sightings] Eared Grebe with Catch

Rusty Scalf wrote:
> It's the Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) which I believe is
> the only one we have. Seems to me that lately I have watched grebes
> and cormorants bring them up with greater frequency than in the past.
> They can get a foot long, and seem to be common on all the lagoons
> and waterways of SF Bay, including Lake Merritt. Apparently
> swallowing one is no easy matter as the fish is quite armored.

I think the armor is less of a factor than the length and strength of 
the little devils. The only way to catch 'em is crossways and the only 
way to swallow them is longways, and getting them from position A to 
position B is a nontrivial task. Without the armor, I suppose it'd be 
easier to chop them into bite-size chunks - but that's not something 
grebes do, is it?

I've heard that they're inferior when it comes to nutrition, especially 
for feeding nestlings, because the armor makes much of their bulk 
indigestible.

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