These birds are named because of the streaky feathers across their face. On my recent trip to Nelson I drove down the road towards Kaikoura to Lake Elterwater, which is a nice wildlife refuge and full of water at this time of year. On a previous visit I had found the lake pretty dry, but currently water is quite high around the viewing platform and a pair of Hoary-headed Grebe were floating past. Up until recently these birds have been Australian vagrants, but a couple of birds have bred at Lake Elterwater in the last couple of years. There may be 4 or 5 birds with the new status of rare native. They are similar in size to the New Zealand Dabchick and Australian Little Grebe, but easily distinguished in breeding plumage.
NZ Birding 