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Indian Darter
Anhinga melanogaster
23.1432, 72.1994
Field Notes
Description:
A near threatened species. The adult plumage above is black and the wing coverts and tertials having silvery streaks along the shaft. The crown and neck are brown shading to black towards the back of the neck. The underparts are blackish brown. A pale line over the eye and throat and a line running along the sides of the neck gives it a striped appearance. The iris is white with a yellow ring around it. The tip of the upper mandible is dark while the base is pale brown bill while the lower mandible is yellowish.
Habitat:
Seen at Thol Bird Sanctuary.
Notes:
They usually forage singly, with the entire body submerged, swimming slowly forward using their webbed feet while the head and neck is moved jerkily abovethe 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. Adults go through a synchronous moult of their flight feathers after the breeding season resulting in the loss of flying ability for a brief period of time. When disturbed from their perches during this period, they dive into the water below and attempt to escape underwater. This escape behaviour is also employed by chicks at the nest.
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