Friday’s Feathered Friends- The Anhinga

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The Anhinga was one of 4 birds I really wanted to see while I was in Florida in September and I saw 3 of them! One male and two Females…I think.

It’s another pre-historic cool looking bird.

I think this is a male because his neck is black. He’s drying his wings.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

Here’s the female also drying out her wings. Like Cormorants they don’t have waterproof feathers so they get on a perch or land and spread them open to dry them out.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
As I crept closer to her to get a better shot I spooked her and off she flew.

Fun Facts:

  • The Anhinga’s distinctive shape earned it the nickname “water turkey” for its turkeylike tail, and “snake bird” for its long snakelike neck as it slithers through the water.
  • Unlike most waterbirds, the Anhinga doesn’t have waterproof feathers. While that may seem like a disadvantage for their watery lifestyle, their wet feathers and dense bones help them slowly submerge their bodies under the water so they can slyly stalk fish.
  • The name Anhinga comes from the Tupi Indians in Brazil, meaning “devil bird” or “evil spirit of the woods.”
  • The oldest recorded Anhinga was at least 12 years old when it was shot in Louisiana in 1948.

Fun facts gleaned from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Anhinga/overview

We may have a break from the wind and beat the rain this morning so I’m going birding with friends which means I’ll be a bit late checking out your blogs, and reading comments.

more to come…

39 thoughts on “Friday’s Feathered Friends- The Anhinga”

  6. This is a bird I’ve seen only twice, and both times were at the Brazoria Wildlife Refuge that I visit so often. Once I caught one in flight, but the last time I saw one drying its wings. Now that I’ve seen your photos, I think the wing-dryer might have been a female. I’ll have to look more closely. When post the photos, maybe you can help. me out!

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    1. Thank you so much, Teagan! As it turned out we had heavy wind before the storm came in so I didn’t go. Then it ended up cancelled so it worked out. The came raging in last night with really strong gusts of wind that blew our weighted down outdoor table and chairs across the patio! Thankfully, nothing is lost and only one of the old wine barrel flower pots was blown across the patio and smashed to smithereens, but thankfully that’s all that broke.

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    1. My average is worse than that. I had 4 birds on my list that I had hoped to see while in Florida but only saw two. I picked up 21 new to me birds so I’m not complaining!
      I was pronouncing Anhinga with the “hi” like the word unhinged but, was corrected many times by Mary with the correct pronunciation. It’s Anne-HEEN-gah. LOL!

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