Anhinga

Common Names:

• American darter
• black darter
• snake bird

Physical Description:

• 32-36 in. height
• wingspread to 4 ft
• blackish with very long, thin, neck
• small snakelike head with long pointed bill
• large silvery wing patches
• females have pale buffy head neck and breast
• males are black
• juveniles are brownish in color
• both have long, fan-like tail
• weight is approx. 3 lbs

Habitat:

Usually found nesting and roosting in trees and bushes in freshwater swamps, lakes, sluggish streams in sheltered and murky waters, fresh-water marshy sloughs of sawgrass with clumps of willows, along fresh-water canals, and in cypress sloughs, often in areas overgrown with vegetation. Near coastal areas, found around brackish lagoons, and in mangrove-bordered salt and brackish bays, lagoons, and tidal streams.
Nests in small groups with herons and egrets and may appropriate their nests or their build own. Nests in branches in trees, from 5-20 ft. above water. Loosely built of leaves and sticks, lined with moss and green cypress foliage.

Feeding:

Dives under water for prey, from surface or while flying over water, or from perch. Feeds primarily on fishe, also eats aquatic insects, crayfish, leeches, shrimps, tadpoles, eggs of frogs, young alligators and water snakes.

Range:

Southeastern U.S to Argentina.