The anhinga (; Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called darter, American darter, snakebird, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from a'ñinga in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the 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, via small opercula at the corners of the beak.
The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to the Oriental (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australasian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak.
Distribution and migration
Members of the Anhinga genus live in warm, shallow waters and swamplands worldwide.
Kettles of anhingas often migrate with other species of birds, and have been described as resembling "black paper gliders".
Behavior
Anhingas swim underwater by kicking their webbed feet to pursue their prey, fish or amphibians, which they spear by rapidly outstretching their bent neck. They come up to the surface to consume and swallow prey. Unlike ducks, ospreys and pelicans, which coat their feathers with oils from the uropygial gland, the anhinga does not have this ability; anhingas lack waterproof feathers on their bodies, causing them to be saturated upon immersion into water, while the flight feathers are slightly less wettable. Thus, their habit of basking in the sun with outstretched wings is crucial. Their dense bones, wetted plumage, and neutral buoyancy in water allow them to fully submerge and hunt for underwater prey.
Anhingas cannot fly for any extended distance with soaked feathers; if they attempt to fly while wet, notable difficulty is experienced, the birds flapping vigorously while "running" on the water's surface for a short distance (often escaping a perceived threat). Like cormorants, anhingas perch and rest on fallen trees, logs or rocks near the water's edge with wings spread and feathers fanned-open in a semicircular shape, facing away from the sun, in order to dry themselves and absorb the sun's heat. Anhingas also lose body heat relatively fast, and their posture helps them absorb solar radiation from the sun to counteract this. aquatic invertebrates and insects. In Alabama, the anhinga's diet consists of fishes (such as mullet, sunfish, black bass, catfish, suckers, and chain pickerel), crayfish, crabs, shrimp, aquatic insects, tadpoles, water snakes and small terrapins. In Florida, sunfishes and bass, killifishes, and live-bearing fishes are primarily eaten by the anhingas. Other fish eaten include pupfish and percids. Anhingas bring their capture to the surface of the water, toss it backward and engulf it head-first.