Anhinga
by Carla Parris
Title
Anhinga
Artist
Carla Parris
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
ANHINGA is a digital photograph by Carla Parris.
This beautiful male anhinga was photographed on the jungle boat ride at Wakulla Springs, a state park in northeast Florida, outside Tallahassee.
Anhingas, also known as snakebirds, darters, or water turkeys, are cormorant-like water birds which swim on the surface of the water, diving to catch their food, or swim with their body submerged and their head and neck stretched out, often resembling a snake gliding through the water. They spear their prey with their bill, sometimes then flipping it up and swallowing it head first.
Anhingas are dark greenish black, with beautiful white and silver markings on their wings.
When anhingas are in their breeding plumage, they have a blue ring around their eyes, and the males have pale head plumes and a dark mane. Females are distinguishable by their tan-colored head and neck.
Anhingas have poorly developed oil glands and their feathers aren't totally waterproof. While this makes them efficient divers, it also requires them to perch in the sun with their wings spread open to dry their feathers.
This portrait of an anhinga features his profile. He is perched on old, weathered wood (perhaps a cypress knee) in the middle of the springfed waters of the Wakulla River.
Uploaded
April 6th, 2012
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Comments (30)
Don Columbus
Congratulations Carla, your work is Featured in "Coastal Water Birds-Shore Birds" I invite you to place it in the group's "2017 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet
John Bailey
Congratulations on being featured in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Carla Parris
Matthias and Swift Family, this is a male anhinga. We always see lots of them on the boat ride at Wakulla Springs, Florida. It was unusual to capture this one as he is seen here. They are most often seen sitting with their wings spread open to dry. I'll probably be posting one of those images in the near future.
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