Anhingidae

species of bird

The anhinga (; Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". 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. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis.

species of bird

species of bird

The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term snakebird is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "D

Liptornis is an extinct genus of fossil birds of uncertain affinities. The type species is L. hesternus. It was described by Argentine palaeontologist Florentino Ameghino in 1894 from a large cervical vertebra from the Middle Miocene Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia. At the time, it was referred to the Pelecanidae, though this is questionable. In his 1933 palaeornithological review, Lambrecht referred it only to the superfamily Sulides without placing it in a family. A later study has suggested family Anhingidae.