Alternative name: Australian Darter
- Anhinga novaehollandiae
Identification
An 85–97 cm (33½-38¼ in)
- Long snake-like neck.
- Sharp pointed bill
- Long, rounded tail
Male
- Dark brownish black
- Glossy black upperwings
- Streaked and spotted white, silver-grey and brown
- White or pale brown stripe from the bill to the neck
- Breast is chestnut brown
Female and immature
- Grey-brown above
- Pale grey to white below
- White neck stripe less distinct in young birds
Similar Species
Distinguished from bulkier cormorants by the Darter's slender body, long, snake-like neck and its pointed, rather than hooked, bill.
Distribution
Australia to Lesser Sundas, Moluccas and New Guinea
Taxonomy
Formerly lumped with African Darter and Oriental Darter.
Subspecies
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Clean fresh water in lakes and large slow-flowing rivers.
Behaviour
Often swims with only the snake-like neck visible above the water, or drying its wings while perched. Clumsy on land, they can soar gracefully to great heights on thermals with a cross-shaped silhouette when flying.
Diet
They spear their prey (mainly fish but also other aquatic animals e.g. snakes, frogs, crustaceans etc.) underwater as they swim.
Breeding
They build a stick platform nest in a tree. The clutch consists of 3-6 pale blue eggs that become scratched and stained over the incubation period. Nests are usually solitary, but Darters may nest within loose colonies of other tree-nesting water birds such as cormorants, spoonbills and ibis.
Vocalisation
Usually quiet; makes clicking sounds and a variety of caws, hisses and clicks at nest.
Movements
Generally sedentary, with sporadic movements usually related to drought conditions sometimes moving long distances (over 2000 km) when not breeding.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdsinbackyards
- del Hoyo, J., Collar, N. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2020). Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/467296 on 3 January 2020).
- Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J. (eds.) 1990. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 1, ratites to ducks. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.
- Sagar, P.M. 2013. Darter. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
- Schodde, R., Kirwan, G.M. and Porter, R. (2012). Morphological differentiation and speciation among darters (Anhinga). Bulletin British Ornithologists' Club 4: 283-294
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Australasian Darter. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Australasian_Darter
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
