Clark’s grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) is named after John Henry Clark, a 19th-century American surveyor who was also a naturalist and collector. It is distinguished from the Western Grebe because the black on the head does not encircle the red eye – as it does in the Western – and its bill is orange-yellow. The genus name Aechmophorus comes from the Ancient Greek words "aichme", meaning spear, and "phoros", meaning someone who bears things around; it refers to the bird's long, daggerlike beak.