FAMILY ANHINGIDAE 7I 



in the Province of Herrera, around the marshes east of Pacora, and 

 have one specimen from the lower Rio Jaque, in Darien. The bird 

 is fairly common also around Changuinola, in Bocas del Toro. 

 Two (now in the British Museum) were collected by Arce years 

 ago at Laguna de Castillo in southern Veraguas, which is the most 

 western record on the Pacific slope. To date the species has not been 

 reported from Chiriqui, Los Santos, or the Comarca de San Bias. 



In ordinary flight the anhinga alternately flaps the wings rapidly 

 several times to gain momentum and then spreads them stiffly while 

 it sails. It is common to see them soaring, alone or in company of 

 other birds, in rising air currents. Their outline against the sky — 

 slender head and neck extended, broad wings and tail — suggests that 

 of a sailplane. 



It is common also to see them perched on snags or in dead trees 

 beside the water, and often when approached instead of flying they 

 drop heavily into the water, dive, and disappear. Frequently they 

 swim with the body nearly submerged so that only the slender head 

 and neck are visible, from which habit they are called snakebirds. 

 They fish by diving, during which, unlike most water birds, the 

 outer body feathers become completely soaked. The birds then rest 

 on an open perch with wings wide spread to allow the plumage to 

 dry. On one occasion, on the Rio Escota, near Santa Maria, Herrera, 

 I shot two for specimens that fell in the river. While we were 

 cutting a long bamboo to retrieve them, both birds became water- 

 logged and sank, one of them in deep water where it could not be 

 found. 



Though the Cuervo de Agvija undoubtedly is resident no nests 

 have been reported yet from Panama. Elsewhere usually they 

 gather in small colonies though pairs may remain alone. 



Information relative to breeding in the southeastern United States 

 from southern Texas to Florida (Bent, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 121, 

 1922, pp. 230-232) describes the nest as an untidy structure sug- 

 gestive of that of a heron but more bulky. It is placed rather low in 

 bushes or trees, and is built of sticks, usually with a lining of twigs 

 bearing green leaves. The 3 to 5 eggs are pale bluish white, with a 

 chalky coating that becomes stained brownish or yellowish during 

 incubation. They vary in length from 47 to 57.5 mm. and in breadth 

 by 33 to 37.5 mm. Anhingas often nest in company with herons and 

 ibises. 



The species sometimes is known as cuervo de agua duke to distin- 

 guish it from the cormorant. 



