Playing Anhinga

by Amy Posted on 24 November 2009

During one of our visits to Viera Wetlands, we saw this Anhinga playing with a piece of pipe. Anhingas hunt by swimming under water and spearing fish with their sharp bills. They then have to manipulate their prey in order to eat it, which usually involves tossing the fish into the air from the perpendicular and catching it as it falls parallel into its throat. These photos I found on Flickr show the toss and catch process. We were both enthralled and amused watching this Anhinga’s antics as it practiced its prey-flipping skills.

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This entry was posted in Behavior, Florida, Video, Viera Wetlands. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Playing Anhinga

  1. Wren says:
    24 November 2009 at 7:50 PM

    Color me jealous – how wonderful to see that, let alone be able to record it.

    Reminds me a bit of a cat playing with a mouse.

  2. Amy says:
    24 November 2009 at 8:15 PM

    Thanks Wren. We watched it playing for about two minutes before I even started taking the video. It was definitely a top wildlife moment for us.

  3. Nicole says:
    26 November 2009 at 3:37 AM

    That’s amazing to watch!

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