Anhinga, ( an hinggah,) or White Bellied Darter

( Zool.) The Plotus anhinga, a very elegant species of the Colymbidæ, or Diver family, common in some parts of Brazil. Its body is about the size of a tame duck's, but its length, from the tip of the beak to that of the tail, is nearly three feet. It has a long, slender bill, yellowish at the base; a small head; the neck long, round, and slender, and covered with soft downy feathers of a rufous gray color; while those on the breast, belly, and thighs are of a silvery whitene . The plumage at the beginning of the back is brown, each feather having an oblong spot of whitish yellow in the centre, so that it appears speckled; the rest of the back is black; and the tail consists of shining black feathers tipped with gray. The legs are remarkably short, the thighs feathered, and the claws very sharp and crooked. The A. builds its nest on trees, on which it roosts at night and when not on the water, being very rarely seen on Fig. 2669.-PLOTUS ANHINGA. the ground. It feeds upon fish, which it catches most dexterously, darting upon them with great rapidity. These birds delight to sit in little communities, on the dry limbs of trees, hanging over still waters, with their wings and tails expanded. When any one approaches, they will drop off the limb into the water as if dead, and for a minute or two are not seen; when on a sudden, at a great distance, their long slender heads and necks only appear, so that while swimming they greatly resemble snakes, no other part of them being visible, except occasionally the tip of the tail.