Anhinga Preening Its Feathers (Anhinga anhinga)

            Naples Botanical Gardens
60 Acre Wildlife Reserve
Naples, FL 

Click on image to enlarge. 

The anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird. The origin of the name snakebird is apparent when swimming: only the colored neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis. 

The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak. 

Anhinga species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, A. a. anhinga and A. a. leucogaster, based on their location. A. a. anhinga can be found mainly east of the Andes in South America and also the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. A. a. leucogaster can be found in the southern United States, Mexico, Cuba, and Grenada. A fossil species Anhinga walterbolesi has been described from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene of Australia. 

Only birds that live in the extreme north and south of their range migrate and do so based on temperature and available sunlight. Anhingas will migrate towards the equator during winter but this range is "determined by the amount of sunshine to warm the chilled birds". Although not in their usual range, anhingas have been found as far north as the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the United States.

Taken in: United States / Florida / Royal Harbor (show map)

Taken on: October 30, 2019

Tags:

Near The Gulf Of Mexico

Naples

USA

Naples Botanical Gardens

Anhinga

Anhinga anhinga

Preening

Snakebird

Darter

American Darter

Water Turkey

Bird

Animal

Water Bird

Americas

Anhingidae Family

Spears Fish

Other Small Prey

Sharp Slender Beak

Found All Over The World

Warm Shallow Waters

Temperature

Available Sunlight

Migrate Towards Equator

In Winter

Sue Roehl

Panasonic

Lumix DMC GH4

100 - 400 mm Lens

Hand held

Cropped

coth5 « less

Sets appears in: • Naples Botanical Gardens 60 acre Wildlife Reserve

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