These birds are unusual for a water bird
in that they don't have
water-repellant feathers. That means the wings
get drenched
after a swim
and so the darter will stand with its wings held out in
the sun to dry.
Darters are sometimes called snake birds
and it's easy to understand why when you see one in the
water. They often swim partly-submerged with just that
slim head and neck above the surface. It really can look
like a snake when it does that.
Mature male darters have more dark plumage
than females and the young ones. It's the male which builds
a nest. The nest is assembled in a tree alongside water and
both sexes play their part in looking after the eggs and
young. When I saw this family of darters in Sydney's Centennial
Park (picture above right) the male was sitting with the
chicks. Then the female arrived to feed the young, at which
point
the
male
took off,
possibly to catch some more fish.
Darters mainly eat fish although they will
also eat other small critters from the water such as insects.
Reference
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds, Reader's Digest Services
Pty Ltd, 1979
|
 |
This family of darters
(above) was in a paperbark tree
overhanging one of the ponds in Sydney's
Centennial Park
Looks like a snake, but it's
a bird. A darter swimming
partly submerged
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