Anhinga

Anhinga
Temporal range:
Male in Costa Rica
Female in Tampa, Florida
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Anhingidae
Genus: Anhinga
Species:
A. anhinga
Binomial name
Anhinga anhinga
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Subspecies

A. a. anhinga
A. a. leucogaster

Range of A. anhinga
  Breeding range
  Resident range
Synonyms

Plotus anhinga Linnaeus, 1766

The anhinga (/ænˈhɪŋɡə/; 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.

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