ANHINGA. 199 



Family ANHINGID^. 



The Darters are more slender in form tliau the Cormorants, 

 with long and pointed bills, very long and thin necks, long tails, 

 short legs, and fully ^y€bbed feet. 



The family is comprised of four species which are distributed in 

 Africa, Asia, New Guinea, Australia, Xorth, Central, and South 

 America. 



Genus ANHINGA Briss. 



Anhinga Brisson, Oru. vi. p. -176, 1760. Type A. anliinga (Linn.). 



This germs is easily distino-uished from Pludacrocorax bv the 

 long and pointed bill, the long thin neck, the long lanceolated 

 scapular feather.'=, and the ripplings on the tail-feathers and 

 sc.ipulars, 



12G. AnMnga anliiiiga. 



American Darter. 



Plotus anliinga Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. i. p. 218, 1766 ("Habitat in 



America australi ") ; Cab. in Schomb. Eeis. Guian. iii. p. 764, lb4S ; 



Salvin. Ibis, 1886, p. 169 ; Quelch, Timehri (2) ii. p. 373, 1888 



(Abary Eiver); Ogih-ie- Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xx^d. p. 419, 1898 



(Eupununi Eiver, Georgetown, Essequebo Eiver). 

 Plotius anhinga Brown, Canoe and Camj) Life, p. 47, 1876 (Cartoonie 



Eiver). 

 Anliinga anhinga Beebe, Our Search for a Wilderness, p. 137, 1910 



(Barima), p. 251 (Cuyuni). p. 354 (Abary Eiver) ; Brabourne <fc 



Chubb, B. S. Amer. i. p. 60. no. 554, 1912."^ 



"Diver or Duchlar^' [Quelrh] ; "Snakebirds" {Beehe). 



Adult male. General colour above and below glossy black, 

 spotted and streaked with silvery white on the mantle, scapulars, 

 and wings ; tip of tail smoky-white ; with elongated hair-like 

 feathers on the nape and upper hind-neck ; throat and fore-neck 

 brown more or less speckled with white. 



Total length 980 nun., culmen 96, wings 337, tail 250, 

 tarsus 39. 



We do not know the exact locality of the male described. 



Adult female. Differs from the adult male in having the throat 

 an<l fore-neck whitish brown, the breast rufous buff, and a chest- 

 nut band skirting the black on the abdomen ; head and hind-neck 

 pale brown ; mantle more or loss groy. AVing 340 mm. 



