Lmst

🌎 Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) #SouthAmericanBirds #CentralAmericanBirds #NorthAmericanBirds | #Anhinga #Snakebird #AmericanDarter #AnhingaAnhinga | #Anhingas #Snakebirds #Darters #DarterFamily #WaterBirds 📷: Photo by JimDegerstrom🦜 #birdsoftheworld #birds

🌎 Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

The anhinga, also known as snakebird, or American darter, is a large, dark water bird. Males are glossy greenish-black with silver-white streaking on the wings and back, while females have a paler, tan head and neck. It boasts a long, slender, pointed bill and a long, fan-shaped tail. Anhingas are found in the warmer parts of the Americas, from the southeastern U.S. south through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America. They prefer freshwater habitats like swamps, marshes, and slow-moving rivers, where they can find perches and open water. They are known as "snakebirds" due to their habit of swimming with only their head and S-shaped neck above water, they spear fish with their sharp bills. Their feathers are less waterproof than other waterbirds, so they often perch with wings outstretched to dry in the sun. They soar gracefully on thermals and typically nest colonially. 2.5 Flash (Edited)

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

📷: Photo by JimDegerstrom https://pixabay.com/photos/anhinga-wings-drying-bird-2501457/

QFEE

#Anhinga dance 🦤🕺💃🕺

🤭 startled the fella, almost lost his balance, but recovered nicely 10/10

#Birds #Wildlife #Anhingas

Goofy black water bird is startled by the photographer's sneaky approach, nearly list his balance from the perch atop a fence. Series of shots, wings spread as the bird shifts body to and fro in a balance recovery scheme.

Biologists shed light on the physiology and behavior of cormorants and anhingas https://phys.org/news/2025-01-biologists-physiology-behavior-cormorants-anhingas.html paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-024-01593-x

"the two species forage in very different ways. #Cormorants are much more active swimmers and divers, quickly pursuing larger #fish for prey—often in deeper water and frequently in the ocean... they also consume more oxygen to do this. Meanwhile, #anhingas are more sedentary and lie in wait in shallower waters for small fish to swim by them"

#Birds #Animals

An anhinga drying its wings. It's a large black cormorant-like bird with long neck and small head.

@cheriecreationstruck

I love #Anhingas!

The only bird in the #USA whose common, genus, species and family names are all the same!

They are often confused with #cormorants. They are very similar black waterbirds that dive for fish and spread their wings to dry afterward. Here are five #fieldmarks that will help distinguish between them:

1) Head/neck profile is very "sharp". Cormorants have bigger heads and hooked beaks.

2) Anhingas have a "turkey tail" with distinctive off-white feather tips.

3) Only the mature males are all black. The bird in your photo is either a female or immature.

4) If you get to see them drying their wings, they have beautiful silvery accents on their back and wings.

5) You can easily spot them in the air by their #flight pattern. Unlike cormorants, loons, and similar black waterbirds--they alternate between flapping and short glides. Flap, flap, flap--glide------repeat...

I was also told by a wildlife rescue person that they spear rather than grab their prey and to facilitate this they have small backward-facing barbs on their beaks.

In this photo you can see the upper bill penetrating the fish's tail!

I have no idea what they do with those clawed feet (they seem out of place) but they have always reminded me of the Alien from the #movie #DarkStar!

#Anhinga #Birds #Birding #NaturePhotography