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The darters or snake-birds are birds in the family Anhingidae. There are four species, one of which is near-threatened. The darters are frequently referred to as “snake-birds” because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. Image File history File links Darterm. ...
Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ...
Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ...
Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with...
Orders Many - see section below. ...
Families Pelecanidae Sulidae Phalacrocoracidae Fregatidae Anhingidae Phaethontidae The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. ...
Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (January 8, 1793 - March 17, 1879) was a German botanist and ornithologist. ...
Mathurin Jacques Brisson (April 30, 1723 - June 23, 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher. ...
Orders Many - see section below. ...
The darters are large birds with dimorphic plumage. The males have black and dark brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape and a larger bill than the female. The females have a much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. Both have grey stippling on long scapulars and upper wing coverts. The sharply pointed bill has serrated edges. The darters have completely webbed feet, and their legs are short and set far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving. Vocalizations include a clicking or rattling when flying or perching. During breeding adults sometimes have caw or hissing calls. Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by about thirty species of cormorants and shags. ...
Range:
Darters are circum-equatorial, tropical or subtropical. They inhabit either fresh or brackish water and can be found in lakes, rivers, marshes, swamps, estuaries, bays, lagoons and mangrove swamps. They tend to gather in flocks sometimes up to about 100 birds but are highly territorial when breeding. Most are sedentary and do not migrate, however the populations at extreme distributions may migrate. Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal. ...
// Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere. ...
Diet: Darters feed mainly on fish. They use their sharply pointed bill to spear their prey when they dive; this is how they get the name darter. Their ventral keel is present on the 5-7 vertebrae which allows for muscles to attach so that they are able to project their bill forward like a spear. They also eat amphibians such as frogs and newts, reptiles such as snakes and turtles and invertebrates such as insects, shrimp and mollusks. These birds use their feet to move underwater and quietly stalk and ambush their prey. They then stab the prey, such as a fish, and bring them to the surface where they toss it into the air and catch and swallow it.
Breeding: The darters are monogamous and pair bond during the breeding season. There are many different types of displays used for mating including male displays to attract the female, greeting displays between the male and female and pair bonding displays between the pairs. Also during breeding, their small gular sac changes from pink or yellow to black and the bare facial skin turns to turquoise from a yellow or yellow-green color. They usually breed in colonies.
Breeding can be seasonal or year round and varies by geographic range. The nests are made of twigs and are built in trees or reeds, often near water. The clutch size is two to six eggs (usually about 4) of a pale green color and the eggs are incubated for 25 to 30 days. The eggs hatch asynchronously. Bi-parental care is given and the young are considered altricial. They reach sexual maturity by about 2 years. These birds generally live to around 9 years.
Taxonomy: This family is very closely related to the other families in the order Pelecaniformes. There are generally four species recognized in this group and all are in the same genus which is genus Anhinga. The Oriental Darter is near-threatened species. Habitat destruction along with other human interferences is among the main reasons for a declining population.
Species Extinct "species" from Mauritius and Australia known only from bones were described as Anhinga nana (Mauritian Darter) and Anhinga parvus, but they were misidentifications of bones of the Long-tailed Cormorant and the Little Pied Cormorant, respectively (Olson, 1975). In the former case, however, they might belong to an extinct subspecies which would have to be called Phalacrocorax africanus nanus (Mauritian Cormorant) - quite ironically, as nanus/nana means "dwarf" and the remains are larger than those of the geographically closest population of the Long-tailed Cormorant. Binomial name Anhinga anhinga (Linnaeus, 1766) For the bird genus called Anhinga (Darters), see Anhinga The Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, or American Darter, is a water bird of the warmer parts of North America and South America. ...
Binomial name Anhinga melanogaster (Pennant,, 1769) The Oriental Darter or Indian Darter (Anhinga melanogaster ), sometimes called Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical southern Asia and Indonesia. ...
Binomial name Anhinga rufa (Daudin, 1802) The African Darter (Anhinga rufa ), sometimes called the Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical sub-Saharan Africa. ...
Binomial name Phalacrocorax africanus (Gmelin, 1789) The Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. ...
Binomial name Phalacrocorax melanoleucos (Vieillot, 1817) The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the...
There are a number of prehistoric species and genera known only from (mostly Tertiary) fossils; among those, the aptly named Macranhinga, Meganhinga and Giganhinga represent very large and flightless darters. For a list of birds extinct in Late Quaternary prehistoric times and (usually) known from specimens not completely fossilized, see Later Quaternary Prehistoric Birds. ...
In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ...
Tertiary period was previously one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago to the start of the Quaternary period about 1. ...
External links - Darter videos on the Internet Bird Collection
References - Howard, L. 2003. "Anhingidae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 22, 2006 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Anhingidae.htm
- “Order: Pelicaniformes”. Georgia Wildlife web: The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources. 2 May 2000. Accessed April 22. 2006. http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/gawildlife/birds/pelecaniformes/pelecaniformes.html
- "darter." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press., 2003. Answers.com 22 Apr. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/darter
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