[2] The pied-billed grebe was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Colymbus podiceps.

[3] The binomial name is derived from Latin Podilymbus, a contraction of podicipes ("feet at the buttocks", from podici-, "rump-" + pes, "foot")—the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek kolymbos, "diver", and podiceps, "rump-headed", from podici- + Neo-Latin ceps.

[13] Their undertail is white[11] and they have a short, blunt chicken-like bill that is a light grey color,[2][11] which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name).

Because of the pied-billed grebe's duck-like habits, some inexperienced observers may confuse it with a duck.

[15] However, pied-billed grebes have a very different bill shape (shorter, pointed at the tip, and flattened along the sides), as well as being shorter-necked and shorter-bodied than a duck.

Also, unlike ducks, the closest living relatives of the grebe family are flamingos.

During the summer breeding season, they are most prevalent in central, northern and northeastern Canada.

[2] In the United Kingdom, pied-billed grebe visits have numbered 45 sightings as of 2019, appearing generally in October to January.

[21] Pied-billed grebes are found in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails.

[2][13] They dive for about 30 seconds and may move to a more secluded area of the water, allowing only the head to be visible to watch the danger dissipate.

[17] Grebes lay between three and ten bluish white smooth elliptical eggs with the female starting the incubation process.

[2][17] Both parents share the role of raising the young – both feeding and carrying them on their backs.

[13] Pied-billed grebes feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, and also on small fish and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles).

[6] They have been shown to eat their own feathers, like other grebes, to aid in digestion (prevent injury from small bones).

The waves from boats can destroy the nests and their sounds easily frighten the birds.

Their feathers were formerly used as decorations on hats and earmuffs and they were hunted in the eastern United States, in the 19th century.

[12][13] The status of pied-billed grebes in the Northeastern United States is dire; they are declining in New England.

The draining, filling, and general destruction of wetlands causes a loss in their breeding habitats.