Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)
About the Oriental Darter
The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) 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 a 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. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 21 recordings for this species: 7 CC BY-NC-ND · 4 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- Asian KoelEudynamys scolopaceusrecording
- Banded Bay CuckooCacomantis sonneratiirecording
- Barn SwallowHirundo rusticarecording
- Black-crowned Night HeronNycticorax nycticoraxrecording
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopusrecording
- Blue-tailed Bee-eaterMerops philippinusrecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.