...the elusive one

As I peruse my collection of bird books and reading online of a particular species, there was one specific bird I have been hoping to see; to spot one when we're walking some of the bird trails along fresh water going out to the bays around town. For months, but with absolutely no luck,  disappointed I've been, several times, until just recently...

... tho it resembles, in a few instances, the Cormorant, it is NOT of the same family or genus. There are numerous subtle differences of course, but some that are quite visible upon further viewing. For instance....this bird's beak [bill] is totally different...a long pointed beak while the Cormorant's is shorter, wider, and hooked at the tip. Their feet are different also, if you're lucky enough to see the feet---this bird's feet are webbed and yellow while the Cormorants have black webbed feet. Also, the plumage...while the Cormorant's feathers are a dull brown to near black, this bird has dark, nearly a blue black body feathers that are dotted AND striped with white. Their necks, very long and "S" shaped most times [sometimes stretched out in full length], the male has much darker, nearly black necks, while the females have a dull gray-brown. At breeding, the eyes have blue rings around them. Again, they are not Cormorants, but ANHINGA [pronounced ann- HING -gah] The 'HING' rhymes with ring or sing.

With further reading, I learned that they, if not feeling threatened by their environment, will return to the same area often. So, hoping to capture their wings outstretched to show the wings' patterns, we returned the following morning in hopes they'd still be in the vicinity. At first, as we rounded the boardwalk observing area, no sign of them. We walked to the end and watched the pelicans, stilts, sandpipers, egrets, and sea gulls for some time. We then, turned back to head for the car and stopped where we saw them the previous morning, and they were out once again ---as luck would have it, the patterned, striped wings fully opened; drying off.........

ANHINGA

photos taken:  Hans Suter Birding Refuge and Park - Corpus Christi Texas

Habitat Range in the Americas: