---
title: "Oriental Darter"
description: "Anhinga melanogaster — Uccelli. The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/oriental-darter
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Oriental Darter

> Anhinga melanogaster — Uccelli. The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia.

- Scientific name: *Anhinga melanogaster*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 7497
- Wikidata: [Q282242](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q282242)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5062](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5062)

## Names

- en: Oriental Darter
- de: Indischer Schlangenhalsvogel
- es: Anhinga asiática
- fr: Anhinga roux
- nl: Indische slangenhalsvogel
- pt: Biguatinga-de-pescoço-vermelho / mergulhão-serpente
- pl: Wężówka indyjska

## Countries with the most observations

IN (3730), LK (973), MY (766), TH (553), ID (336), SG (231), VN (173), KH (124), NP (119), MM (23), CN (16), BD (14)

## Summary

The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water. It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_darter

## Photo

![Oriental Darter](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/oriental-darter/medium.jpg)

Photo: Светлана Царахова · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200267877

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/oriental-darter?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).