Anhinga drying its wings

Anhinga anhinga

Anhinga · Everglades National Park · 6 February 2026

An Anhinga drying its wings in the Everglades in February, which is how it spends a good part of every day. Anhingas are birds of the slow, warm fresh water of the American South and the tropics, and they have to dry out after every swim.

They swim with the body submerged and only the head and neck above the surface - the origin of the old name "snakebird" - which is possible because, unlike almost every other waterbird, their feathers aren't waterproof. Less buoyancy means less effort spent staying underwater while stalking fish, but a soaked bird has to come out and spread its wings to the sun before it can fly properly again. The silvery-white wing coverts, laid down in neat overlapping rows, are ornamental as much as functional, and both sexes grow them.