Anhinga?

So what is an Anhinga anyways?

When I began working at Burnside Elementary, I was told to choose an animal and post a sign outside my door. At the time I was unmarried, so I quickly chose “Giovannone’s Giraffes”. (Alliteration is important.) Then I married a wonderful guy and had to return to the drawing board… Andrade… Ant? Antelope? Anteater? Could I just call us “Andrade’s Animals”? :) My brother is a bird expert so I asked him if there are any birds that begin with “an-“. Low and behold, the anhinga! The best part is that the anhinga is a local bird, meaning is can be found in fresh water areas near the coast of South Carolina. Not only does this bird have a cool name, I can teach the students about some of the fauna in our state.

Here are some quick facts about the Anhinga:

Name: Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

AKAs: snake-bird, water turkey, black darter

Description: Large, dark water bird; long, thin neck that can twist like a S; long, thin pointed bill; long tail; silver patches on wings 

Habitat: fresh water sources with many trees for nesting, swamps, marshes, rivers, lakes

Region: North Carolina west to Texas and south to Argentina

Diet: Mostly fish, at times snakes, frog, crustaceans 

 

Fun Facts:

Baby anhingas learn to swim before they learn to fly.

Anhingas swim with their whole body under the water and only their head and neck out of the water. 

Anhingas are good soarers and can achieve great heights. 

Anhingas use their beaks like daggers to spear fish.

It's call has been described as a raspy croaking. To hear it's calls, click on the link below. 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/anhinga/sounds

References:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/anhinga/id

http://www.birds.com/species/a-b/anhinga/

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aqua/anhinga

http://animal.discovery.com/birds/anhinga-info.htm