SPECIES INDEX
Why Does the Anhinga Swim With Just Its Neck Above Water?
The anhinga’s feathers aren’t waterproof — unlike ducks or ospreys, it has no oil gland to coat its plumage — so it swims with its whole body submerged and only its long, snake-like neck above the surface, earning it the nickname “snake bird.” We’ve watched that profile up close on more than one trip to Congaree National Park, and caught one drying out afterward, wings fully spread, at nearby Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve.
Identification
A large waterbird, roughly 35 inches long with a 3.7-foot wingspan, built around a long, thin, snake-like neck and a sharp, straight, dagger-like bill. Breeding males are glossy black-green with a white-tipped tail; females and immatures show a pale gray-buff head and neck against a chestnut-brown breast. In flight, the fanned tail resembles a turkey’s.
Call
Anhingas are largely silent away from the nest. Near a nest or when disputing a perch, they produce a loud, buzzing, clicking chatter — often compared to a revving string trimmer or a treadle-operated sewing machine — along with rolling grunts and whistles during courtship.
Habitat & Range
Anhingas favor warm, shallow, sheltered fresh water — swamps, wetlands, and slow-moving rivers with nearby perches for drying and sunning. They’re year-round residents across the southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas, and range further south through Mexico, the Caribbean, and much of South America. Congaree National Park‘s floodplain wetlands, along with nearby Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve, offer exactly this kind of habitat.
Diet & Hunting
Anhingas hunt fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates by stalking slowly underwater, neck crooked like a cobra ready to strike. Specialized muscles and a hinge joint in the neck let the head dart forward in an instant, spearing prey with the bill before surfacing to flip and swallow it whole.
Nesting & Reproduction
Anhingas typically breed after their second or third winter, often nesting in colonies alongside herons and egrets. Chicks hatch bald, then develop tan down followed by white down, with true juvenile feathers appearing by around three weeks old.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, with a large range spanning roughly 15 million square kilometers across the Americas. The species is also protected in the U.S. under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Photographed by Apex Exposure Media
Locations Documented
Apex Exposure Media has documented the anhinga at the following location(s). This list will grow as new sightings are added.
- Congaree National Park, South Carolina — perched, preening, and taking flight in the forest wetlands.
- Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve, Cayce, South Carolina — drying its wings above the wetlands.