DARTERS 



95 



DARTERS 



Order Sic^aiiopodcs: family Avliitiglda- 



HE Darters (also called Anhingas and Snake-birds) comprise the family .4;//;/ng/- 

 dcc. include four species, and are generally distributed throughout the tropic 

 and semi-tropic regions of both hemispheres. They have an elongated body, 

 covered with small feathers and soft down; a very long, slender, and snake- 

 like neck; small, compressed head; and a slender, nearly straight, and very 

 acutely pointed bill, nearly twice as long as the head, and like that of the Herons. 

 In these respects (excepting the greater length and sinuosity of the neck, and 

 the fact that the bill is not hooked, though it is somewhat serrated) they bear 

 a general external resemblance to their nearest relatives, the Cormorants. 

 The structure of the neck, however, is peculiar in that it is bent at the eighth 

 or ninth vertebra, and is equipped with a singular muscular mechanism by 

 means of which the bird may throw its bill forward with a rapier-like thrust, and impale 

 its prey. 



Darters' wings are long and pointed, while the tail is somewhat long, and is rigid, broad 

 and fan-shaped; it is composed of twelve feathers which widen toward the ends; the outer 

 pair are ribbed in a singular manner. The feet are short, and the legs are placed rather far 

 back on the bodies, but the birds perch readily and with apparent ease. They are not marine 

 in their habits, and are not likely to be found near the seacoasts, their favorite habitats being 

 dense swamps. Their flight is swift, and they dive with astonishing ease and quickness. 

 By nature they are timid and watchful; when frightened they drop from their perch into 

 the water, and vanish not only noiselessly, but without causing more than very slight ripples. 

 Once under water they swim very swiftly. When they are alarmed while swimming on the 

 surface, they disappear by sinking gently backward, after the manner of the Grebes. Fre- 

 quently they swim with the body submerged but with the head and neck protruding in a 

 manner which strongly suggests a water snake. 



These singular birds feed chiefly on fish, which they capture, not by diving, but mainly 

 by a pursuit which is like that of the Loons and Grebes. They are gregarious and build, 

 in brush near the water, rough nests in which they lay usually three or four eggs, of a pale 

 bluish color and having a white chalk-like incrustation. 



WATER-TURKEY 



Anhinga anhinga ( Liniurus) 



.\. (1 r. Numljcr 118 



Other Names. — Anhinga; Darter; American Darter; 

 Black Darter ; Black-bellied Darter ; White-bellied 

 Darter (young); Snake-liird. 



General Description. — Length, 3 feet. Color, black. 



Color. — .\mi.T Male: Head, neck, and body, (/lossy 

 grccnish-hlack : wings and tail, plain black, latter 

 tipped with white ; wings with a broad silvery gray 

 band formed by greater and middle coverts: lesser 

 wing-coverts, spotted, and shoulders, stripeil with 

 silvery-gray ; in breeding plumage, back of neck with 

 a mane of long black feathers and a lateral series of 

 hair-like brownish-white |ilunies ; bill, yellow, dusky- 

 green on ridge and tip ; bare space around eye, livid- 

 green ; sac, orange; feet, dusky-olive and yellow; webs. 



yellow; iris, from carmine to pink. .AnuLT Fem.^le: 

 Throat and breast, light brown bordered behind with 

 rich chestnut; feathers of back with brown edges and 

 white centers ; /;(-(/(/ and neck, (jlazcd broivn varied with 

 rufous, buff, and whitish. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : In swamps or bayous, on 

 small trees or bushes over water; constructed of sticks, 

 leaves, dry grass, roots, and moss. Eggs ; 2 to 5. 

 bluish or dark greenish-white overlaid with white chalky 

 incrustation. 



Distribution. — Tropical America north to western 

 Me.xico, Texas. Florida, southern Illinois and North 

 Carolina ; casual in Kansas ; accidental in New Mexico 

 and .'Xrizona. 



