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Australasian Darter
Anhinga novaehollandiae
Anhingidae
Description: The Darter is a large, slim water bird with a long snake-like neck, sharp pointed bill, and long, rounded tail. Male birds are dark brownish black with glossy black upperwings, streaked and spotted white, silver-grey and brown. The strongly kinked neck has a white or pale brown stripe from the bill to where the neck kinks and the breast is chestnut brown. Females and immatures are grey-brown above, pale grey to white below, with a white neck stripe that is less distinct in young birds. The Darter is often seen swimming with only the snake-like neck visible above the water, or drying its wings while perched on a tree or stump over water. While its gait is clumsy on land, it can soar gracefully to great heights on thermals, gliding from updraft to updraft. It has a cross-shaped silhouette when flying.
Distribution: In Australia, the Darter is found from Adelaide, South Australia, to Tennant Creek, Northern Territory and then to Broome, Western Australia. it is also found in south-western Australia, from Perth to Esperance. Worldwide, it has been thought of as one of two mainAnhinga species (the other, A. anhinga, is found in North America), found in the southern half of Africa, Madagascar, Iraq, Pakistan, India, south-east Asia, Indonesia and New Guinea. However, A. melanogaster is now considered to be further divided into three species, with rufa being found in Africa, melanogaster in south Asia and novaehollandiae in New Guinea and Australia (the Australasian Darter).
Habitat: The Darter is found in wetlands and sheltered coastal waters, mainly in the Tropics and Subtropics. It prefers smooth, open waters, for feeding, with tree trunks, branches, stumps or posts fringing the water, for resting and drying its wings. Most often seen inland, around permanent and temporary water bodies at least half a metre deep, but may be seen in calm seas near shore, fishing. The Darter is not affected by salinity or murky waters, but does require waters with sparse vegetation that allow it to swim and dive easily. It builds its nests in trees standing in water, and will move to deeper waters if the waters begin to dry up.
Feeding: The Darter catches fish with its sharp bill partly open while diving in water deeper than 60 cm. The fish is pierced from underneath, flicked onto the water's surface and then swallowed head first. Smaller items are eaten underwater and large items may be carried to a convenient perch and then swallowed. Insects and other aquatic animals, including tortoises, may also be eaten, as well as some vegetable matter. In hot weather, adult birds may pour water from their bills into the gullets of their young chicks when they are still in the nest.
Breeding: The Darter is usually a solitary bird, forming pairs only while breeding. Breeding is erratic, happening whenever water levels and food supplies are suitable, but most often occurs in spring and summer. Nests are usually solitary, but Darters may nest within loose colonies with other water birds that nest in trees, such as cormorants, spoonbills and ibis. The male decorates a nest-site with green leafy twigs and displays to attract a mate, with elaborate wing-waving and twig-grasping movements. The male carries most of the nest material to the nest-site, which is normally in the fork of a tree standing in water, usually about 3.5 m above the water's surface. Both sexes complete the nest, incubate the eggs and raise the young. Chicks are kept warm by brooding continously (or cooled down by shading with spread wings) for up to a week after hatching and both adults stay in the nest with the chicks overnight. In hot weather, the adults will even shake water over the chicks after a swim. Chicks can swim after about four weeks in the nest and start to fly at about 50 days.
(Source: www.birdlife.org.au)
© Chris Burns 2020
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With my usual morning schoolbus currently indisposed and the subject of company politics, I've have this elderly step-entrance Dennis Dart to play with this week.
Its been 7 years or so since I collected L108 HHV from the seller in Surrey wearing Hedingham & District livery, and its been a faithful servent to the Stanways business ever since. Remarkably, it still has the same angine and box that it was acquired with. Northern Counties 'Countybus' bodywork is fitted and but for a few rattles in the cab window and entrance door area its quite a tight little thing. There can't be too many 'step-entrance' Darts still working daily (school term times) for a living?
1975 Dodge Dart
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Big Lemon Dennis Dart X551 FBB is seen with Mercedes P224 LKK in the depot this afternoon shortly before 224 departure.
A Common darter ( Sympetrum striolatum) sitting on an old inhaler shell. As a safety feature we always put a "cap" over the end of bamboos to prevent accidental eye damage and old inhaler shells do the trick.
A Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) perching on a plant in the gardens at RHS Hyde Hall! I love the way they always look like they are smiling!
Common Darter....Sympetrum striolatum.
Taken in front of a Thistle flower at Crowle Moor nature reserve, Lincolnshire, England.
In the heart of the Meadows Dennis Dart SLF, Plaxton Pointer SPD, number 63 (SK52 OJG) is seen working Service 24 in 2013, between Granton in the north of Edinburgh to the Royal Infirmary.
Looking north from the summit of Mt Alfred up the dart valley. Mt Alfred sits at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu
The River Dart near its source on Dartmoor, still more of a babbling brook than the mighty river it will become before it meets the sea at Dartmouth.
Just an assortment of darter species that I've photographed, all from Indiana except E. exile which was in Michigan.
Darters are a water bird that is closely related to Cormorants. Their feathers are not waterproof and since they are underwater hunters you will usually see them sitting out of the water on a log or rock with their wings spread right out drying themselves. Their feathers are permeable to water to allow for decreased buoyancy so they can sink to catch their prey. They have an oil gland at the base of their tail which they use while preening and squeezing the water from their feathers.