ANHINGAS AND CORMORANTS
These wonderful swimmers are sharing a page because I’ve seen them both drying their outstretched wings after a dive but they also have quite a few differences. They are typically referred to as water birds but we’re not going to split feathers here! And I usually find them in the company of Egrets and Herons.
Anhingas have been called many names like snake bird and water turkey. It is an amazing creature with the most interesting feather pattern. They are quite large birds that can have a wing span of about 45 inches. Yes, that’s almost four feet!
Here, this Anhinga was furiously climbing a tree in a little grove beside a pond. All around, Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills were perched in branches and down below, a 3.5 foot alligator lay snoozing in the late afternoon sun.
Unlike the Anhinga, the Cormorant has oily feathers that makes them waterproof. Driving to Key West, you’ll see them lining the utility wires. Sometimes, watching it dive, I’m anxious to see it reappear. They seem to remain submerged for a long, long time. I’ve learned, though, that they can dive quite deeply and remain under water for lengthy periods. Click here for a Cormorant gallery
This guy here was having a ball!