Both have a crown that is black and the neck, chest and belly are white while the back is dark grey and the sides and flanks blackish.

The northern form in particular is similar in appearance to the rare and highly localized Junin grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii), and their ranges overlap.

[3][4] The silvery grebe nests in Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Chile, and the western parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

[4] The silvery grebe is found in small groups and feeds on aquatic invertebrates which it catches while diving under the water.

[5] The IUCN recognizes the southern and the northern silvery grebes as separate species, with the former being considered Least Concern and the latter Near Threatened.