Difference between revisions of "Oriental Darter" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 14:52, 29 July 2023

Alternative name: Snakebird

Breeding Plumage in a Courting Pair
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, India, July-2016

Anhinga melanogaster

Identification

85–97 cm (33½-38¼ in); A tall cormorant-like species

Very long neck
White lateral neck stripe

Male

Glossy black overall plumage with white streaks

Females and immature birds are browner.

Similar species

African Darter and Australasian Darter

Distribution

Photo © by Tribhuz
Chitwan National Park, Nepal, March 2017

From Iraq east to Pakistan, India and to south-eastern Asia, Malay Archipelago and Philippine Islands.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly lumped with African Darter and Australasian Darter.

Habitat

Clean, shallow water in lakes, fresh and alkaline; and big rivers.

Behaviour

Often swims with only the neck above water.

Diet

Photo © by Joe Pan

They spear their prey underwater (mainly fish but also other aquatic animals e.g. water snakes, frogs, crustaceans etc.) as they swim.

Breeding

They construct a stick nest in a tree; the clutch consists of 3-6 eggs. They often nest with herons, egrets and cormorants.

Vocalisation

Recording by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, India, Dec-2015
An individual sitting on a dry branch, in front, called twice as we were trying to capture perfect sunset.

Gallery

Click images to see larger version

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Oriental Darter. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Oriental_Darter

External Links

Search for photos of Oriental Darter in the gallery

Search for videos of Oriental Darter in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Anhinga melanogaster
+'''Alternative name: Snakebird'''
-[[Image:Oriental_Darter.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by Joe Pan]]
+[[Image:oriental_darter_alok.JPG|thumb|550px|right|Breeding Plumage in a Courting Pair<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}} <br />[[Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park|Keoladeo National Park]], [[India]], July-2016]]
+;[[:Category:Anhinga|Anhinga]] melanogaster
 ==Identification==
+–97 cm (33½-38¼ in); A tall cormorant-like species
+*Very long neck
+*White lateral neck stripe<br />
+'''Male'''
+*Glossy black overall plumage with white streaks<br />
+Females and immature birds are browner.
+====Similar species====
+[[African Darter]] and [[Australasian Darter]]
+==Distribution==
+[[Image:DSC 0699.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Tribhuz|Tribhuz}}<br />[[Royal Chitwan National Park|Chitwan National Park]], [[Nepal]], March 2017]]
+From Iraq east to Pakistan, India and to south-eastern [[Asia]], [[Malaya|Malay Archipelago]] and [[Philippines|Philippine Islands]].
-The Oriental Darter or Indian Darter (Anhinga melanogaster ),is sometimes called Snakebird,  It is a cormorant-like species that has a very long neck. The Oriental Darter differs in appearance from African and American darters most recognisably by its white lateral neck stripe.
-==Distribution==
-It is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia.
 ==Taxonomy==
-The Oriental Darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American (Anhinga anhinga), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) Darters.
+This is a [[Dictionary_M-O#M|monotypic]] species.<br />
+It was formerly lumped with [[African Darter]] and [[Australasian Darter]].
 ==Habitat==
-Lives in large stretches of clean fresh water in lakes and big rivers where it is an amazing diver, spending long periods under water.
+Clean, shallow water in lakes, fresh and alkaline; and big rivers.
 ==Behaviour==
-It often swims with only the neck above water. It is a fish-eater.  It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 3-6 eggs. It can reduce buoyancy so that only the head comes out of the water but, thus waterlogged, has difficulty running and flapping over the water to get airborne. Spends many hours sitting on an exposed perch with wings held out to dry; roosts communally in open trees.
+Often swims with only the neck above water.
+====Diet====
+[[Image:Oriental_Darter.jpg|thumb|350px|right| Photo &copy; by {{user|Joe+Pan|Joe Pan}}]]
+They spear their prey underwater (mainly fish but also other aquatic animals e.g. water snakes, frogs, crustaceans etc.) as they swim.
+====Breeding====
+They construct a stick nest in a tree; the clutch consists of 3-6 eggs. They often nest with herons, egrets and cormorants.
+====Vocalisation====
+{{ Audio|oriental_darter_call.mp3 }}
+Recording by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br />
+[[Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park|Keoladeo National Park]], [[India]], Dec-2015<br />
+An individual sitting on a dry branch, in front, called twice as we were trying to capture perfect sunset.
+==Gallery==
+Click images to see larger version
+<gallery>
+Image:oriental_darter_2_alok.JPG|Fledglings<br />&copy; by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br />[[Keoladeo National Park]], Bharatpur, [[India]], September-2018
+</gallery>
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug18}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)
+{{ref}}
+==External Links==
+{{GSearch|"Anhinga melanogaster" {{!}} "Oriental Darter" {{!}} "Snakebird"}}
+<br />
+{{VSearch|"Anhinga melanogaster" {{!}} "Oriental Darter" {{!}} "Snakebird"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-==External Links==
+[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Anhinga]] [[Category:Bird Songs]][[Category:Videos]]
-{{GSearch|Anhinga+melanogaster}}
-[[Category:Birds]]