Monday, October 19, 2009

Like being called a Snake Bird?


This is a female Anhinga, also known as the Snake Bird because when it’s in the water most of the bird is submerged and all you can see is its long skinny neck and sharp beak – very snake-like. Notice that it has webbed feet like a duck. They are found all over the state of Florida and also parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Because the Anhinga lacks the oil glands that most water birds have, they can be spotted very often with their wings outstretched, drying its feathers. (I thought it was unusual that this one was sitting so motionless and had its wings in tight and close....probably happily digesting its lunch.) They feed on fish, shrimp, amphibians, and even young alligators and snakes when they can catch them. They swim well underwater and when they do catch their prey they surface and stretch out their yellow beak and long neck to down the meal. Their body is black with silvery white feathers on the upper back and wings except that the females, like this one, have a brown head and neck. being that I am not an ex[pert, this could be a young Anhinga as the young ones, male and female, look like the adult female until maturity.

8 comments:

  1. If it looks an anhinga, waddles like an anhinga, swims like an anhinga and sticks its wings out in the air like an anhinga...well, it ain't a Pelican! ;-))

    These are such fun creatures to watch. At Silver Springs, sometimes you can see them down in the water ('cause it's so clear), all stretched out and zooming along...

    Nice shot, Frank!

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  2. I'm not sure if that bird likes, we call it a snake bird.....? Nice shot though... :-)

    - Pixellicious Photos

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  3. Excellent close up capture of this Snake Bird.

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  4. Never seen one before, it's bocy feathers almost look like fur in this shot. Nice one.

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  5. Strange looking bird, but it's easy to see how it got its nickname.

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  6. Does look like a fur coat. Did you do a Holga shoot too? :0)

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  7. I've never seen one up close before. This is a nice shot. The feathers do look like fur!

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  8. I've never seen a female anhinga. Very interesting. If they all looked like this, it wouldn't have taken me so long to stop confusing cormorants and anhingas.

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