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Those wondering why it is named so[0]:

> The word anhinga comes from a'ñinga in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird".[2] The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhinga




Anhingas.

I was vaguely aware of the term devil bird for Anhingas, but I can't help but assume that they used it in the title to make people think it was some kind of dangerous invasive that was imported. There are standard common names for North American birds. It's not like fish where there's a number of common names depending on the region. If you're writing an article about a bird species and you happen to use the scary-sounding non-standard name for it, I'm going to assume it's intentional to scare people.

Anyway, Anhingas are pretty common further south on the coast and occupy more or less the same niche as cormorants. Fishermen don't like them, but they don't like a lot of birds that eat fish.

Edit: Subject-verb agreement. Forgot how to grammar there. Probably missed something else too.


I had never heard of Anhingas being called devil birds before this morning. I fully agree that the headline was meant to scare people.

I know Anhingas as sacred Water Birds of the Native American Church [1].

[1] https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/843126


They also dry their feathers by standing still with their wings out. Anhingas are pretty cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhinga#/media/File:Anhingadry...


Cormorants as well. Very cool birds.

I assume Anhingas are the same, but cormorants are less buoyant than most waterfowl because they need to dive deep from the water's surface. When they're just floating, you don't see much of their back and they look like a tiny periscope sticking out of the water.


If you’re a diver, cormorants are a ton of fun. Nothing like being 40ft under water and seeing a bird just swim by like there’s nothing to it. Works with both the normal kind and the flightless kind from Galapagos. Just a lot of fun to see evolution excel from under the water.


I loved seeing pelicans dive under while I was snorkeling, being 40' under water and seeing a cormorant would be incredible.

That's a sight the vast majority of people will never see.




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