This bird is an Anhinga… which just so happens to be its common name, the name of the genus, and the name of the species (so it is Anhinga anhinga). I also just learned that Anhinga means “devil bird” or “snake bird” in the Brazilian Tupi language. It gets the name snake bird from the way it swims with just its head out of the water (you’ll see below) unlike most other water birds that swim with their body on top of the water, Anhingas keep their body below the water. Which results in another typical thing about Anhingas – after swimming, they will rest with their wings and tail spread wide and their backs to the sun to dry their feathers and warm up… usually after shaking off like a dog! Enjoy…
