Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Anhingas, Darters

Darters, also known as anhingas or snakebirds, are a family of mostly tropical waterbirds characterized by their long, snake-like necks. There are four species, with three being common and widespread, while one, the Oriental darter, is near-threatened. These birds are large, measuring up to 100 cm in length with a wingspan of about 120 cm, with the males displaying darker plumage than the females. Darters are exceptional swimmers, using their sharp, serrated bills to spear fish underwater. They are mostly sedentary, favoring lakes, rivers, and marshes, and display territorial behavior when nesting in colonies. Their vocalizations vary from clicks and grunts to croaks. Darters breed monogamously, depending on the species, either seasonally or throughout the year, constructing nests near water where they lay pale green colored eggs and exhibit biparental care. Chicks are born naked but quickly grow down and depend on their parents for feeding and warmth. The family of birds has a robust fossil record, with ancestry traced back to the Early Miocene, and they are closely related to cormorants and shags. Despite having a varied diet, darters mainly consume mid-sized fish, employing a foot-propelled diving technique to hunt. After diving, they are often seen drying their wings. Darter eggs and sometimes adults are consumed by humans, though their fish diet gives them a less appealing taste. Conservation threats to darters include habitat destruction, overuse of pesticides, and egg collection.

Regions

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.
3
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Species Categories

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Stewart W
Fantastic to be involved
Fantastic to be involved, great for mental health and gets you responding with the Challenges that are to takd part in.
Alex J
Friendly and helps to identify birds
Great birding app, good for logging your sightings, also has nice species guide. I'm enjoying the social aspect more than I expected, everyone seems friendly and helps to identify unknown birds. Good mix of newbies and experienced users.
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! 🐦
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
Carl B
Helped me to identify more birds
Love this app and has helped me to identify more birds. The challenges and badges are great for keeping the motivation going to get out and keep birding.
Viperray5
Loving it
I really enjoy being able to interact with other birders on this platform! This seems like a great way to meet other birders and find some new spots.
Foxgirl100
Great app for beginner twitchers
I’ve had a passion of photographing birds for a long time now but have only just gotten into proper birdwatching, and this app is brilliant for those just getting started. There is a great sense of community among users and the app is very easy to use and professional. Awesome app altogether
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
Mike T
Sense of Community
A great app, which is continually being improved. What really comes through is the passion of those behind the app. The sense of community is brilliant, so much help and support provided to new and/or in experienced birders.
As featured in
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Giving back
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.