THE ANHINGA, OR WATER-TURKEY, IN FLORIDA 



THE fact that the Anhinga resembles both a turkey and a snake 

 sufficiently to have received the names "Water-Turkey" and 

 "Snake-bird "is an excellent commentary on the peculiarity of 

 the bird's appearance and habits. 



The first-mentioned name finds its origin in the highly developed, 

 broadly tipped, turkey-like tail. The second relates to the long, slender, 

 snake-like neck, and when the bird swims with its body submerged 

 and only the long, shining neck, head and sharply pointed bill above 

 the water, the resemblance to a serpent is greatly increased. (See bird 

 in group.) It may be added that the bird's book name of "Anhinga" 

 is of Portuguese origin and means snaky. 



The Anhinga is equally at home in the water and high in the air, 

 combining in an unusual manner the habits of an aquatic and an aerial 

 bird. Its form, close plumage and broadly webbed feet — all four toes 

 being united by membranes as in the Cormorants — admirably fit it for 

 life in the water, and it not only dives with great ease, but pursues and 

 captures its prey under water, the tip of the bill being provided with 

 fine, tooth-like serrations to enable it to grasp its slippery victims. 



After prolonged submersion the Anhinga's plumage, in spite of its 

 texture, becomes more or less saturated with water, hence the bird, 

 while drying its feathers, stands with wide-open wings. (See bird at 

 right.) 



The Anhinga's webbed feet make it at home in the water, but it is 

 the bird's tail which renders it, for a diving bird, equally at ease in the 

 air. With spread wings and tail it soars in circles, hawk-like, for long 

 periods, evidently for the pleasure it finds in this exhilarating form of 

 exercise. 



Anhingas are hatched naked and are reared in the nest, which is a 

 remarkably well made structure. When a few days old, a buff down 

 begins to appear, which soon covers them. Like the young of Pelicans 

 and Cormorants, they secure their food from the parent's throat. 



The background represents a "bonnet," or yellow pond lily lake 

 with its surrounding cypresses and palmettoes, 17 miles west of St. 

 Lucie, Florida. 



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