{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{For|the bird genus Anhinga|darter}} {{Speciesbox | italic_title = no | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Pleistocene|present}} | image = Anhinga anhinga -Costa Rica-8.jpg | image_caption = Male in Costa Rica | image2 = AnhingaFemale.jpg | image2_caption = Female in Tampa, Florida File:Anhinga_Everglades_National_Park.ogg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2025 |title=''Anhinga anhinga'' |volume=2025 |article-number=e.T22696702A281836797 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T22696702A281836797.en |access-date=22 November 2025}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web|title=''Anhinga anhinga''|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100210/Anhinga_anhinga|work=NatureServe Explorer |publisher=The Nature Conservancy|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref> | genus = Anhinga | species = anhinga | authority = (Linnaeus, 1766) | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = ''A. a. anhinga''<br /> ''A. a. leucogaster'' | range_map = Anhinga Range.png | range_map_caption = Range of ''A. anhinga'' {{leftlegend|#C65651|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#AE605A|Resident range|outline=gray}} | synonyms = ''Plotus anhinga'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} }} The '''anhinga''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|n|ˈ|h|ɪ|ŋ|g|ə}}; '''''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".<ref>{{cite book|author=Ferreira, A. B. H. |year=1986|title=Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa|edition= Second|location= Rio de Janeiro|publisher= Nova Fronteira|page= 123}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Hieronymous">{{cite book |last1=Hieronymous |first1=Tobin L. |editor1-last=Thewissen |editor1-first=J. G. M. |editor2-last=Nummela |editor2-first=Sirpa |title=Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates |date=2008 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25278-3 |page=83 |chapter=Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Chemical Senses in Aquatic Birds}}</ref>
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.<ref name=Nellis/> The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, ''A. a. anhinga'' and ''A. a. leucogaster'', based on their respective location. ''A. a. anhinga'' can be found mainly east of the Andes in South America, east to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. ''A. a. leucogaster'' can be found in the southern United States, Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean island of Grenada.<ref name=Blake/> A fossil species, ''Anhinga walterbolesi'', has been described from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene of Australia.
Only birds living in the extreme north or south of their respective ranges will migrate based on temperature and available sunlight; anhingas will travel closer towards the equator during winter, but this range is "determined by the amount of sunshine to warm the chilled birds".<ref name=Nellis/> Although not part of their traditional range, American anhingas have been found as far north as the states of Pennsylvania,<ref name=McWilliams/> Wisconsin,<ref name=Robbins/> and New York.<ref>{{Cite news| title = The 'Devil Bird' Lands in New York, With More Likely to Come | newspaper = The New York Times| date = 4 May 2023}}</ref>
Kettles of anhingas often migrate with other species of birds, and have been described as resembling "black paper gliders".<ref name=Eubanks/>
==Description== The anhinga is a large bird, measuring approximately {{convert|89|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length (with a range of {{cvt|75|-|95|cm|in}}), with a {{cvt|1.14|m|ft}} wingspan.<ref name=Sibley/><ref name=Cornell/> The ''A. a. anhinga'' subspecies is larger than ''A. a. leucogaster'' and has broader buffy tail tips.<ref name=Blake/> They weigh on average around {{cvt|1.22|kg|lb}}, with a range of {{cvt|1.04|-|1.35|kg|lb}}.<ref name= Cornell/><ref name=Maehr/><ref name=Hennemann1985/> The bill is relatively long (about twice the length of the head), sharply pointed, and yellow, and the webbed feet are yellow as well.<ref name=Robbins/><ref name=Audubon/><ref name=Sibley/><ref name=Maehr/>
The male is glossy black-green, including its wings and the base of its wings, while its tail is glossy black-blue.<ref name=Audubon/> The tip of the tail is white.<ref name=Wood/> The back of the head and the neck have elongated feathers that have been described as gray<ref name=Chapman/> or light purple-white.<ref name=Audubon/> The upper back of the body and wings are spotted or streaked with white.<ref name=Chapman/>
The female anhinga is similar to the male except for its pale gray-buff<ref name=Burton/> or light brown<ref name=Gregware/> head, neck, and upper chest. The lower chest or breast is a chestnut color, and the back is browner than the male's.<ref name=Fjeldsa/> left|thumb|Skeleton, showing the hinge-like articulation between the eighth and ninth cervical vertebrae. The hatchling starts bald but gains tan down within a few days of hatching. Within two weeks, the tan down is replaced by white down. Three weeks after hatching, the first juvenile feathers appear. Juveniles are mostly brown until they first breed, usually after the second or third winter.<ref name=Nellis/>
Anhinga are similar in size, shape, and behavior to the double-crested cormorant. The two species can be differentiated by their tails, bills, and flight. The tail of the anhinga is wider and longer, only the cormorant's bill has a hook-tip, only the anhinga can glide in flight.<ref name=Peterson/>
Typical of the genus, anhingas have a "kinked" neck due to the unique "hinge" morphology of the joint between the eighth and ninth cervical vertebrae.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garrod |first=A. H. |date=1876 |title=1. Notes on the Anatomy of ''Plotus anhinga''. |url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1876.tb02572.x |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=335–345 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1876.tb02572.x |issn=1469-7998}}</ref>
==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.<ref name=BNA>{{cite book|author=Frederick, P. C. |author2= D. Siegel-Causey |year=2000|chapter= Anhinga (''Anhinga anhinga'')|version=2.0|title= The Birds of North America |editor=A. F. Poole |editor2= F. B. Gill |publisher= Cornell Lab of Ornithology|location= Ithaca, NY, USA|pages= 4–5 |chapter-url=https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/anhing/introduction |doi=10.2173/bna.522}}</ref> 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.<ref name=BNA/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rijke |first1=Arie M. |last2=Jesser |first2=William A. |last3=Mahoney |first3=Sheila A. |date=1989 |title=Plumage wettability of the African darter ''Anhinga melanogaster'' compared with the double-crested cormorant ''Phalacrocorax auritus'' |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00306525.1989.9633739 |journal=Ostrich |language=en |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=128–132 |doi=10.1080/00306525.1989.9633739 |bibcode=1989Ostri..60..128R |issn=0030-6525|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
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.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |author=Hennemann, Willard W. |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v084n01/p0091-p0096.pdf |title=Energetics and Spread-Winged Behavior of Anhingas in Florida|journal=The Condor|volume=84 |issue=1 |year=1982|pages= 91–96|doi=10.2307/1367827 |jstor= 1367827}}</ref> Anhingas also lose body heat relatively fast, and their posture helps them absorb solar radiation from the sun to counteract this.<ref name=":1" /> Because an anhinga in the drying position resembles a male turkey, it has been colloquially referred to as the 'water turkey' or 'swamp turkey'.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
== Diet == {{Multiple image | image1 = Anhinga imported from iNaturalist photo 177629323 on 3 December 2024.png | image2 = Anhinga imported from iNaturalist photo 177629345 on 3 December 2024.png | footer = Eating a cichlid. In Florida. | total_width = 300 }} Anhingas feed on moderately sized wetland fishes,<ref name="Cornell" /> amphibians,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Anhinga%20anhinga%20-%20Anhinga%20or%20Snake-bird.pdf |website=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago |title=''Anhinga anhinga'' (Anhinga or Snake-bird)|publisher=UWI}}</ref> aquatic invertebrates and insects.<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{cite web|last=Kearns |first=Laura |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anhinga_anhinga/ |title=ADW: ''Anhinga anhinga'': INFORMATION |publisher=Animaldiversity.org |date= |access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Alabama Birds|last=Imhof|first=Thomas, A|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=1962|isbn=978-0-8173-1701-0}}</ref> In Florida, sunfishes and bass, killifishes, and live-bearing fishes are primarily eaten by the anhingas.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|url= https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/om/om006.pdf#page=127 |title=Adaptations for locomotion and feeding in the Anhinga and the Double-crested cormorant|last=Owre|first=Oscar, T|journal=Ornithological Monographs |publisher=American Ornithologists Union|year=1967 |issue=6 |doi= 10.2307/40166666 |isbn=978-0-9436-1006-1|pages=126–127|jstor=40166666 }}</ref> Other fish eaten include pupfish and percids.<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/>
Anhingas stalk fish underwater, mainly where there is some vegetation. Once they locate their prey, they partly open their bill and stab the fish swiftly. For larger fish, they use both their jaws; for small fish, they may use only the lower jaw.<ref name="Cornell" /> If the fish is too large to forage, the anhinga stabs it repeatedly and then lets it go.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wellenstein, Charlie |year=1986 |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1450&context=ffn |title=Prey Handling by Anhingas|journal=Florida Field Naturalist|volume=14|issue=3|pages= 74–75| via = SORA}}</ref> Anhingas bring their capture to the surface of the water, toss it backward and engulf it head-first.<ref name=":2" />
==Conservation status== The US protects the anhinga under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.<ref name=FWS/> The number of individual anhingas has not been estimated, but they are considered to be of least concern because of the frequency of their occurrence in their {{cvt|15000000|km2|sqmi}} global range.<ref name="iucn" />
<gallery> File:Anhingadrying.jpg|Male drying its feathers and warming its body, Florida, US File:Anhinga in tree.jpg|Showing snake-like neck and pointed beak File:Anhinga, Crystal River FL, March 28, 2012 (7025000559), crop.jpg|Male in flight at Crystal River, Florida, US File:Anhinga in flight.jpg|Male in flight, South Carolina, US File:Anhinga anhinga -Uarini, Amazonas, Brasil -juvenile-8.jpg|Juvenile in Uarini, Amazonas, Brazil File:Anhinga anhinga (juveniles).jpg|Juveniles with white plumage File:Anhinga anhinga -near Lake Apopka, Florida, USA -female-8.jpg|Female in Florida, US File:Anhinga Leesburg 2024.jpg|Anhinga on Harris Lake in Leesburg, Florida. </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist|2|refs= <ref name=Audubon>{{cite book |title=The Birds of America |url=https://archive.org/details/birdsamerica01audgoog |last=Audubon |first= John James |publisher=J.B. Chevalier |year=1843 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdsamerica01audgoog/page/n725 443]–457}}</ref>
<ref name=Blake>{{cite book |title=Birds of Mexico: a guide for field identification |url=https://archive.org/details/birdsofmexicogui00blak |url-access=registration |last=Blake |first=Emmet Reid |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1953 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdsofmexicogui00blak/page/151 151–152] |isbn=0-226-05641-4}}</ref>
<ref name=Burton>{{cite book |title=International Wildlife Encyclopedia |last1=Burton |first1=Maurice |last2=Burton |first2=Robert |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2002 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/internationalwil05burt0/page/646 646] |isbn=0-7614-7271-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalwil05burt0 }}</ref>
<ref name=Chapman>{{cite book |title=Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America |last=Chapman |first=Frank M. |year=1904 |publisher=Harvard University |page=93 |url=https://archive.org/download/handbookofbirdso04chap/handbookofbirdso04chap.pdf |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.34046 }}</ref>
<ref name=Cornell>{{Cite AllAboutBirds|Anhinga}}</ref>
<ref name=Eubanks>{{cite book |title=Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast |first1=Ted L. |last1=Eubanks |first2=Robert A. |last2=Behrstock |first3=Ron J. |last3=Weeks |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=2006 |page=70 |isbn=978-1-58544-510-3}}</ref>
<ref name=Fjeldsa>{{cite book |title=Birds of the High Andes |first1=Jon |last1=Fjeldså |first2=Niels |last2=Krabbe |first3=Povl |last3=Jørgensen |first4=Jens Ole |last4=Byskov |publisher=Apollo Books |year=1990 |page=74 |isbn=87-88757-16-1}}</ref>
<ref name=FWS>{{cite web |author=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |year=1995 |title=Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act |url=http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/mbta/mbtandx.html |access-date=15 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508174755/http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/mbta/mbtandx.html |archive-date=8 May 2008}}</ref>
<ref name=Gregware>{{cite book |title=Guide to the Lake Okeechobee Area |last1=Gregware |first1=Bill |last2=Gregware |first2=Carol |publisher=Pineapple Press Inc. |year=1997 |page=54 |isbn=1-56164-129-4}}</ref>
<ref name=Hennemann1985>{{cite journal |title=Energetics, Behavior and the Zoogeography of Anhingas and Double-Crested Cormorants |first=Willard W. |last=Hennemann, III |journal=Ornis Scandinavica |volume=16 |number=4 |date=December 1985 |pages=319–323 |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.2307/3676697 |jstor=3676697}}</ref>
<ref name=Maehr>{{cite book |title=Florida's Birds: A Field Guide and Reference |first1=David S. |last1=Maehr |first2=H.W. |last2=Kale |first3=Herbert W. |last3=Kale, II |publisher=Pineapple Press Inc. |year=2005 |pages=33, 38 |isbn=1-56164-335-1}}</ref>
<ref name=McWilliams>{{cite book |title=Birds of Pennsylvania |first1=Gerald M. |last1=McWilliams |first2=Daniel W. |last2=Brauning |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1999 |page=43 |isbn=978-0-8014-3643-7}}</ref>
<ref name=Nellis>{{cite book |title=Common Coastal Birds of Florida and the Caribbean |last=Nellis |first=David W. |publisher=Pineapple Press, Inc. |year=2001 |page=110 |isbn=978-1-56164-191-8}}</ref>
<ref name=Peterson>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to the Birds of Texas |last=Peterson |first=Roger Tory |author-link=Roger Tory Peterson |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=1998 |page=130 |isbn=0-395-92138-4}}</ref>
<ref name=Robbins>{{cite book |title=Wisconsin Birdlife: Population and Distribution Past and Present |last=Robbins |first=Samuel D. |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1991 |pages=127–128 |isbn=978-0-299-10260-9}}</ref>
<ref name=Sibley>{{cite book |title=The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America |last=Sibley |first= David Allen |author-link=David Allen Sibley |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |year=2003 |page=45 |isbn=0-679-45120-X}}</ref>
<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |title=Birds of North America |first1=Tom |last1=Wood |first2=Sheri L. |last2=Williamson |first3=Jeffrey |last3=Glassberg |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |page=50 |isbn=1-4027-2821-2 |year=2005}}</ref> }}
==External links== * {{BirdLife|22696702|Anhinga anhinga}} * {{InternetBirdCollection|anhinga-anhinga-anhinga|Anhinga}} * {{VIREO|Anhinga}} * {{Xeno-canto species|Anhinga|anhinga|Anhinga}}
{{Suliformes}} {{Suliformes Genera|S.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q469940}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Anhingidae Category:Birds of the Americas Category:Native birds of the Southeastern United States Category:Mangrove fauna Category:Birds described in 1766 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Extant Pleistocene first appearances Category:Birds of the United States Category:Least concern biota of the United States