All this about the anhinga got me a curious, so I looked them up in the most
detailed reference I could find, the "Birds of America", a comprehensive
tome to say the least. The Cormorant and the Anhinga are of the same order,
Steganopodes, but of different families, Phalacrocoracidae and Anhingidae
respectively.
The text describes Anhinga as swift fliers that can dive with astonishing
speed. However, they hunt fish by swimming in the water with their heads
below the surface and use their wings to propel themselves. When close
enough, a unique structure of the vertebra in its neck, along with a
singular muscular mechanism, give it the means to throw its bill forward in
a rapier-like thrust, impaling its prey. The "dive bomb" behavior is
described as a fright response where they will drop from their perch into
the water, not only noiselessly, but without causeing more than a very
slight ripple, and swim away from perceived danger.
John P
______________________________________
there is no "never" - just long periods of "not yet".
there is no "always" - just long periods of "so far".
Gregg Iverson <giverson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>My Field Guide says "Long straight bill, long tail, and white wing and
>back plumes differentiate it from cormorants"
>
>Says nothing about diving so I'll have to defer to personal observations
>of others on that characteristic.
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|