The sungrebe (Heliornis fulica) is a small aquatic gruiform found in the tropical and subtropical Americas from northeastern Mexico to central Ecuador and southern Brazil.

The family Heliornithidae, to which it belongs, contains just two other species: the African finfoot, Podica senegalensis, found in the Afrotropics from Sub-saharan West Africa and the Congo Basin through the Great Lakes' western shores to Southeast Africa, and the Asian or masked finfoot Heliopais personatus, found from eastern Indomalaya down through Sundaland to the Wallace Line.

[5] Sungrebes are unique among birds in that males have "pouches", folds of skin under their wings in which they carry their young from hatching until the chicks are able to swim for themselves.

[8] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.

[9] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Colymbus fulica in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.

[15] Other studies suggest that finfeet and the Afro-Madagascan flufftails, a group originally thought to be nested within rails, form a lineage called Sarothruridae that separated from each other at the end of the Eocene, probably in Africa.

The long tail (almost a third of the total length) extends well beyond the body in flight, and sits fanned out on or just below the surface of the water while the bird swims.

[3][6][20] Juveniles have similar plumage to the male, but are slightly smaller, and with a grayer cast to the body feathers and more white on the cheeks and neck.

[3] Based on the fossil record, sungrebes or a close relative appear to have ranged as far north as the southeastern United States during the Miocene, despite being only restricted to the Neotropics today.

They are now expanding their range further north in Tamaulipas,[3] and an individual was sighted on 13 November 2008 on the Marsh Loop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA,[22] the first historical record of sungrebes in the United States.

[3][6][7] Both the male and female birds take part in the nest building, which typically consists of twigs, reeds, and dried leaves.

The bird appears to have some muscular control over the shape of the pleats, and can restrict or enhance fluid flow into the tissue to make them more or less rigid.

[26][27][28] It is unknown whether other finfoots share this trait, as it does not persist in prepared skins and would be difficult to spot even in fresh specimens unless one knew to seek it out.

[26][28] Sungrebes prefer quiet forest streams and rivers, freshwater ponds, and lakes with thick, overhanging vegetation.

Given that their range is very large and that the species is not directly targeted for human use, BirdLife International (2009) the IUNC evaluates the conservation status of the Sungrebe as of Least Concern.

[3][5] The Sungrebe's preference for heavy cover and tendency to avoid the presence of humans may limit its ability to cope with the rapid urbanization of Latin America.