American Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga Anhinga Trail
3-25-00 & 3-20-04 Photographed by:
Gordon Atkins
Descriptive Information
- Field marks: Males
are mostly black with some glossy green across their backs. Females are colored
similarly, but have light brown (buffy) head and neck. They both have a strip
of white feathers on the back of their wings. Beaks are long, narrow and pointed,
their necks are long, slender and give the impression of being snake-like.
- Size: The
average length of anhingas is about 34 inches, with a wingspan of about 45
inches.
- General habitat: Swamps,
marshes, wooded rivers and ponds
- Geographic range: All
throughout Florida year-round, as well as southern parts of Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana. Breeding extends slightly north in those states.
Also found on the Gulf side of Texas and Mexico.
- Ecosystem(s) where observed: Freshwater
marsh, highway edges
- Diet: Fish, aquatic invertebrates
- Field Observations: I found
one sunning itself, wings spread wide to dry
off whatever water it had taken on a dive. I came within three feet of
the bird and still she stayed, looking occasionally at me, or around at other
things, even closing her eyes at certain times. She seemed unconcerned of
my presense, perhaps fully aware of the safety withing the Anhinga trail area.
She stood still while I walked around to her front side, there I could see
her webbed feet. After a few minutes she slowly turned around so that her
back was to me again, before finally flying off. I later found one in the
process of hunting. At first he swam under water, head down, tail fanned,
presumably paddling with his feet, as his wings were not moving in a swimming
motion. He came up twice to dive back beneath the water; only the lighter
feathers of his back and tail were clearly visible through the murky colored
water. The third time coming up he hopped out of the water onto a tree branch,
where he proceeded to spread his wings to dry like the previous one had done.
There were several nesting anhingas along this trail, and I was able to see
some of the young inside the nests, at least distantly. There were two babies
in a nest that was situated in a tree in the middle of one pond, another two
across from them and closer to the boardwalk, and another pair on the other
side of the boardwalk. All the babies were white colored, with black wingtips.
While I was watching, A parent from one nest fed one of the youngsters, letting
it reach well inside her throat to get whatever fish was inside.
- References:
- Alden, Peter; et al. National Audubon Society: Field
Guide to Florida. Alfred A. Knopf: New York. 1998.
- Dickenson, Mary B., editor.. Field Guide to the Birds
of North America. National Geographic Society: Washington D.C. 2002.
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