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Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderSuliformes (Gannets, Cormorants, and Allies)
- FamilyAnhingidae (Darters)
- GenusAnhinga (Darters)
- SpeciesAnhinga anhinga (Anhinga)
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
661 Verified sightings at Palo Verde National Park From 2019 to 2026
36,638 In all 50 parks
December 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 →
Recent sightings of Anhinga in Palo Verde National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Gatorland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Bali Bird Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Closest Relatives at Palo Verde National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing an Anhinga in Palo Verde National Park?
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an Anhinga sighting in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, based on 661 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 274 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see an Anhinga in Palo Verde National Park?
December to February
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report an Anhinga in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, against about 20% in March–April and October–November, the lowest months. Those are among Palo Verde National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 480 mm in October.
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 Palo Verde National Park the best place to see an Anhinga?
8th of 50
Of the 50 parks where we can rate Anhinga sightings, Palo Verde National Park ranks 8th at about 40%. The best odds are in Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 90%), Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 70%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Anhinga live in Palo Verde National Park?
Same order: Suliformes
The closest relatives of the Anhinga that you can see in Palo Verde National Park (order Suliformes, Gannets, Cormorants, and Allies) are Bigua cormorant (about 10%) and Magnificent Frigatebird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
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 Palo Verde National Park (661 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
