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Anhinga anhinga

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Anhinga

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100210
Element CodeABNFE01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderSuliformes
FamilyAnhingidae
GenusAnhinga
Other Common Names
anhinga (EN) Anhinga Americana, Mbigua Mbói (ES) Anhinga d'Amérique (FR) Biguatinga (PT)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Relationships to A. rufa of Africa, A. melanogaster of Southeast Asia, and A. novaehollandiae of Australian region remain in doubt (AOU 1983, 1998).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-11-20
Change Date1996-11-20
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: central and eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southern and eastern Arkansas, southern Missouri (formerly), western Tennessee, southern Illinois (formerly), north-central Mississippi, southern Alabama, southern Georgia, and coastal North Carolina south to southern Florida, Cuba, and Isle of Pines, and from Sinaloa and Gulf Coast south along both lowlands of Mexico and through Middle America and South America (also Tobago and Trinidad) west of Andes to Ecuador and east of Andes to eastern Peru, Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay (AOU 1983). NON-BREEDING: southeastern U.S. from central South Carolina, southern Georgia, Florida, and Gulf Coast southward; essentially resident in breeding range in Cuba, Isle of Pines, Middle America, and South America. Casual northward after breeding season (AOU 1983).
Threat Impact Comments
DDE-associated eggshell thinning and reduced hatching success has been observed in Mississippi (see Johnsgard 1993).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Freshwater swamps, lakes, and sluggish streams at low elevations and, in tropical regions, primarily around brackish lagoons and in mangroves (AOU 1983). In Louisiana, most nesting areas are freshwater, some brackish; mainly cypress swamps, sometimes in freshwater marshes (Portnoy, cited by Johnsgard 1993). Favored habitats have areas of open nonturbid water (Palmer 1962). Nests near top of tree or shrub 1-6 m above water or ground, often near wading birds and cormorants. Male establishes nest site, both sexes build.

Ecology

Generally alone or in pairs.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid from February through June (peak from mid-March through April) in Florida, April-early June in Texas-Louisiana (limited data), July on the west coast of Mexico (see Johnsgard 1993). Clutch size usually is 2-5 (mean between 3 and 4 in the U.S.). Incubation, by both sexes in turn, lasts about 25-28 days. Young are tended by both parents, can fly by 6 weeks, independent at 8 weeks. Sexually mature probably in 2 years. Nests singly or in small colonies, up to 100s of pairs, separated into clusters of 8-12 pairs.
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
TexasS4BYes
MississippiS4Yes
South CarolinaS5Yes
LouisianaS5BYes
AlabamaS3B,S4NYes
FloridaS4Yes
North CarolinaS3BYes
TennesseeS1BYes
KentuckySXBYes
VirginiaSNAYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
ArkansasS2BYes
MissouriS3Yes
OklahomaS1BYes
Roadless Areas (3)
Florida (2)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Farles PrairieOcala National Forest1,901
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Sheep Ridge AdditionCroatan National Forest5,808
References (20)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  4. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  5. Dumas, J. V. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (AJAIA AJAJA). No. 490 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  6. Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp.
  7. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  8. Johnsgard, P. A. 1993. Cormorants, darters, and pelicans of the world. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, D.C. xiv + 445 pp.
  9. Palmer, R. S. (editor). 1962. Handbook of North American birds. Vol. 1. Loons through flamingos. Yale University Press, New Haven. 567 pp.
  10. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  11. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  12. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  13. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  14. Root, T. 1988. Atlas of wintering North American birds: An analysis of Christmas Bird Count data. University of Chicago Press. 336 pp.
  15. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  16. Smith, J. P. 1995. Foraging flights and habitat use of nesting wading birds (Ciconiiformes) at Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Colonial Waterbirds 18:139-158.
  17. Spendelow, J. A. and S. R. Patton. 1988. National Atlas of Coastal Waterbird Colonies in the Contiguous United States: 1976-1982. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 88(5). x + 326 pp.
  18. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  19. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  20. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.