Yet another first. This bird though was at quite a distance from where I stood on the beach outside the Kannur Fort. The backdrop was cluttered and so focusing was not easy especially considering the small size of the birds head. A heavily cropped shot but worth uploading since it is a new species for me.
The Oriental Darter or Indian Darter is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish with its body submerged in water. It swims slowly using its webbed feet while the head and neck move jerkily above the water which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird. A fascinating sight for those who have never seen the bird before. It spears fish underwater, surfaces and juggles the fish to swallow it head first. Like cormorants it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry. In some parts of northeastern India, darters are used by tribals to capture fish from streams. A ring is tied around the neck to prevent them from swallowing the prey just as is done with cormorant fishing in parts of Southeast Asia.
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The Oriental Darter is like all other anhingas, a cormorant-like species that has a very long neck. The structure of the neck is as in other species of darter with strongly developed muscles about a kink in the neck that allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to stab fish underwater. The Oriental Darter is found mainly in freshwater lakes and streams. They usually forage singly, with the entire body submerged, swimming slowly forward using their webbed feet while the head and neck is moved jerkily above the water. It darts its neck to impale fish and then brings them out of water, tossing them into the air before swallowing the fish head first. They may sometimes be found along with cormorants which share the habit of spreading out their wings to dry when perched on a waterside rock or tree.
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Caught this Oriental Darter with its wings held open to dry after it had taken a dip in the water looking for fish. The bird was pretty close to where I was and surprisingly did not scoot off most probably because I did not get out of the car. It is never easy to get close to them due to their shy nature. It is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the Cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water. It spears the fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of Snakebird. The Oriental Darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to the American, African and Australasian darters. These were for sometime treated as subspecies of Anhinga Melanogaster. The Oriental Darter differs in appearance from American Darters most recognisably by its white lateral neck stripe. Clicked at the Chirakkal Chira, a man-made pond which is considered to be the largest in Asia. The 20th species I have identified so far at this pond.
Tags: canon eos 550d rebel t2i kiss x4 300mm tele Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM kenko pro 300 C-AF 1.4x teleplus DGX bird fauna snakebird darter oriental darter indian darter anhinga melanogaster anhingidae chirakkal chira
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Like the Cormorants these birds share the habit of spreading out their wings to dry when perched on a waterside rock or tree after taking a dip in the water looking for fish. They usually forage singly, with the entire body submerged, swimming slowly forward using their webbed feet while the head and neck is moved jerkily above the water. They dart their necks to impale fish and then bring them out of water, toss them into the air before swallowing them head first.
Tags: canon eos 550d rebel t2i kiss x4 300mm tele Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM kenko pro 300 C-AF 1.4x teleplus DGX bird fauna snakebird darter oriental darter indian darter anhinga melanogaster anhingidae chirakkal chira
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Moving away from the backyard theme, this one is a shot of a Darter. Was driving by some inundated paddy fields when I saw this bird perched on a very slender branch of a dead plant. It seemed to have problems balancing itself properly. So I parked the car close to the field and clicked some shots without getting out. As I was clicking the bird suddenly opened its mouth wide for a few seconds. No idea what it was up to but it made things interesting.
Tags: canon eos 550d rebel t2i kiss x4 300mm tele Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM kenko pro 300 C-AF 1.4x teleplus DGX bird fauna snakebird darter oriental darter indian darter anhinga melanogaster anhingidae
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