Anhinga
AnhingaAnhingaAnhingaAnhinga

Anhinga

Anhinga anhinga

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Cali

In 3 days ~10%

42 Verified sightings at Cali
36,638 In all 50 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Anhinga

The anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called darter, American darter, snakebird, 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, via small opercula at the corners of the beak.

The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to the Oriental (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australasian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak.

Members of the Anhinga genus live in warm, shallow waters and swamplands worldwide. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:04

United States · 2022

© Paul Driver · XC705562 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:09

United States · 2011

© Simon Elliott · XC593172 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:42

Colombia · 2021

© Mauricio Cuellar Ramirez (@Birding.travel) · XC689445 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~90%
2 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~70%
3 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~70%
4 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~60%
5 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~50%
6 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~50%
7 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
8 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~40%
9 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
10 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
11 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
12 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
13 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~20%
14 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
~20%
15 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
16 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
17 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
18 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
19 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
20 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
21 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
22 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
23 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
24 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
25 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
26 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
27 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
28 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
29 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
30 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
31 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
32 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
33 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
34 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
35 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
36 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
<5%
37 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
<5%
38 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
39 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
40 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
41 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
42 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
43 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
44 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
45 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
46 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
47 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
48 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
49 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
50 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
2 Orlando 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
3 Goiânia 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
4 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
6 Santa Cruz de la Sierra 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~10%
7 Guayaquil 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
8 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
9 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Caracas 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Audubon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Gatorland 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Bali Bird Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity

Closest Relatives at Cali

Bigua cormorant
LC

Bigua cormorant

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phalacrocorax brasilianus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Blue-gray Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thraupis episcopus

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely
Great Kiskadee
LC

Great Kiskadee

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pitangus sulphuratus

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely
Ruddy Ground-Dove
LC

Ruddy Ground-Dove

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Columbina talpacoti

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely
Tropical Kingbird
LC

Tropical Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely
Saffron Finch
LC

Saffron Finch

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sicalis flaveola

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely
Red-crowned Woodpecker
LC

Red-crowned Woodpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Melanerpes rubricapillus

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely
Eared Dove
LC

Eared Dove

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Zenaida auriculata

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
Rusty-margined Flycatcher
LC

Rusty-margined Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Myiozetetes cayanensis

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
Blue-and-white Swallow
LC

Blue-and-white Swallow

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Notiochelidon cyanoleuca

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
Southern House Wren

Southern House Wren

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Troglodytes musculus

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
Blue-headed Parrot
LC

Blue-headed Parrot

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pionus menstruus

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Anhinga in Cali?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Anhinga sighting in Cali on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 112th most-seen of the 226 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Anhinga in Cali?

August

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Anhinga in Cali on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Cali's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 150 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see an Anhinga?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Anhinga sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Cali the best place to see an Anhinga?

17th of 27

Of the 27 cities where we can rate Anhinga sightings, Cali ranks 17th at under 5%. The best odds are in Miami (United States, about 40%), Orlando (United States, about 40%) and Goiânia (Brazil, about 20%).

Where does the Anhinga sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Anhinga is recorded against all the birds logged in Cali (42 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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