Photo by George Wall

Believe it or not, the first time I saw an Anhinga was at the Yuma Birding Festival in April, 2003, at the Finney-Ramer Lake in California. It was a rare visitor to the area. Since then, I’ve seen them in Texas, Mexico and Costa Rica. The above picture was taken on my trip to Costa Rica in January, 2007.

Description:  The closest relative of the Anhinga is the cormorants, but one of the main differences is the long pointed beak rather than the hooked one of the cormorant. The Anhinga has a long slender neck, ample tail, but short stubby legs. Just like a cormorant, an Anhinga will perch and spread its wings to dry. 

Habitat:  They frequent lakes, slow rivers, mangroves, lagoons and swamps.

Diet:  They eat aquatic insects and other invertebrates, small turtles, snakes as well as fish which it can spear with a lightning thrust of its bill underwater. 

Nesting:  Their nest is an untidy platform of sticks and dead leaves 5-20 feedt above ground or water in a tree in loose groups or with other waterbirds.  They lay 3-5 eggs and when hatched both parents feed the young.  It takes about two years to attain full adulthood. 

Range:  Their range is from the Central US to Ecuador, Argentina and Uruguay.