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African Darter

 
African Darter

 
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The African Darter (Anhinga rufa ), sometimes called the Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical sub-Sahara
Sahara

The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometers , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as the United States or the continent of Europe....
n Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
.

This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 3-6 eggs. It often nests with heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
s, egret
Egret

An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genus Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets....
s and cormorant
Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of Genus is disputed....
s.

It is an 80 cm long cormorant-like fish-eating species with a very long neck which occurs in both saline and fresh water, especially near mangrove
Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
s. It often swims with only the neck above water.

The male is mainly glossy black with white streaking, but females and immature birds are browner.






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Encyclopedia


The African Darter (Anhinga rufa ), sometimes called the Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical sub-Sahara
Sahara

The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometers , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as the United States or the continent of Europe....
n Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
.

This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 3-6 eggs. It often nests with heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
s, egret
Egret

An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genus Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets....
s and cormorant
Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of Genus is disputed....
s.

It is an 80 cm long cormorant-like fish-eating species with a very long neck which occurs in both saline and fresh water, especially near mangrove
Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
s. It often swims with only the neck above water.

The male is mainly glossy black with white streaking, but females and immature birds are browner. The African Darter differs in appearance from the American Darter most recognisably by its thin white lateral neck stripe against a rufous background colour. The pointed bill should prevent confusion with cormorants.

The African Darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American
Anhinga

The Anhinga , sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of North America and South America....
 (Anhinga anhinga), Oriental
Oriental Darter

The Oriental Darter or Indian Darter , sometimes called Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is a cormorant species that has a very long neck....
 (Anhinga melanogaster), and Australian
Australian Darter

The Australian Darter or Australasian Darter is a species of bird in the darter family, Anhingidae . It is found in Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea....
 (Anhinga novaehollandiae) Darters.

There are an isolated tiny population of the African Darter at the Lower Mesopotamian wetlands in Iraq. The bird used to breed there in breeding colonies with Pygmy Cormorant and Sacred Ibis and other Waterfowl.

Characteristics

Unlike many other waterbirds the feathers of the African Darter do not contain any oil and are therefore not waterproof. Because of this, the bird is less positively buoyant and its diving capabilities are enhanced. After diving for fish, the feathers can become waterlogged. In order to be able to fly and maintain heat insulation it needs to dry its feathers. We therefore see the African Darter often sitting along the waterside spreading its wings drying its feathers in the wind and the sun.

Bibliography

  • Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
  • Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair, Hockey, Tarboton, ISBN 978-1-86872-721-6