Common Name: Australasian Darter

Distribution: Found across Australia, though not in the Great Sandy or Great Victoria Deserts or Nullarbor Plain. It is an uncommon vagrant to Tasmania.

Ecological Notes: Inhabits wetlands and sheltered coastal waters, preferring smooth, open waters for feeding, with tree trunks, branches, stumps or posts fringing the water, for resting and drying its wings. Darters prey upon fish, turtles and aquatic invertebrates.

Additional Notes: Swim with their bodies submerged beneath the water’s surface, with only the sinuous neck protruding above the water. Darters forage by diving in waters over 60 centimetres in depth and impale fish with a sharp, spear-like beak. Small prey may be eaten whilst underwater, but usually the prey is taken to the surface and tossed into the air before being swallowed head first. Distinguished from more common cormorants, with which it often congregates, by its snake-like neck and more slender body, and the needle sharp bill.

References: eBird Australia at https://ebird.org/australia/species/darter4 Accessed 14 August 2023. 

Birds in Backyards at https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Anhinga-novaehollandiae Accessed 24 July 2023.