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Anhinga

Anhinga anhingaOrder: PELECANIFORMESFamily: Anhinga (Anhingidae)

Anhinga Portrait_2
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General

Anhinga: Large, dark waterbird with long tail, snake-like neck, small head, red eyes, and long olive-brown bill. Male is green-black overall with silver-gray feathers appearing speckled and grizzled on upper back and forewings. Female has pale brown breast and neck. May swim with only head and neck above water; often perches with wings outstretched to dry feathers.

Range and Habitat

Anhinga: Breeds near Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas, in Florida, and in Mississippi Valley north to southern Missouri and Kentucky. Spends winters along the Gulf Coast north to South Carolina. Also occurs in tropical America. Preferred habitats include freshwater and coastal water bodies with thick vegetation and large trees, which it uses for roosting and nesting.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"guk-guk-guk-guk-guk"

Interesting Facts

  • The Anhinga does not have oil glands for waterproofing its feathers like most water birds. When it swims, it gets wet which allows it to move more efficiently under water. When it leaves the water, it must spread its wings and dry in the sun.
  • It has a long tail that accounts for its nickname, “water turkey.”
  • While swimming, the head may be above the surface with its body below. Observers only see the long neck and head. This has resulted in another nickname, “snake bird.”
  • It spears fish with its long beak. Sometimes it has to swim to shore and pry the fish off its beak by rubbing on a rock or tree limb.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Anhinga
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Anhinga anhinga
Length35 Inches
Wingspan45 - 48 Inches

Anhinga

Anhinga: Large, dark waterbird with long tail, snake-like neck, small head, red eyes, and long olive-brown bill. Body is green-black overall with silver-gray feathers appearing speckled and grizzled on upper back and forewings. AKA snakebird and water turkey. Often soars like a raptor.

● Song: "guk-guk-guk-guk-guk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Anhinga: Feeds primarily on fish; also eats aquatic invertebrates. Targets slower-moving species of fish and stalks them underwater, striking snake-like with long neck and spearing prey with pointed bill. Prey is eaten above water after tossing it off the bill and positioning it for swallowing headfirst.

● Breeding & nesting: Anhinga: Two to five white to pale blue eggs are laid in a loose nest made of sticks and lined with grass and leaves. Incubation ranges from 25 to 29 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Anhinga: Neotropic Cormorant has yellow face and throat, shorter neck, and hooked bill. Double-crested Cormorant is larger with yellow throat patch, shorter neck, and hooked bill.

Flight Pattern

Strong graceful direct flight., Often soars like a raptor.
Anhinga Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Anhinga: Breeds near Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas, in Florida, and in Mississippi Valley north to southern Missouri and Kentucky. Spends winters along the Gulf Coast north to South Carolina. Also occurs in tropical America. Preferred habitats include freshwater and coastal water bodies with thick vegetation and large trees, which it uses for roosting and nesting.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMost do not migrate
Weight43.2 Ounces