Take a look at this bird. He is a Double-Crested Cormorant, a bird of great quality and uniqueness. He is many things to many people, but one thing that he is not is an Anhinga. The Amateurnithologist incorrectly identified this bird as an Anhinga to some friends while out-and-about and thus brought disgrace upon this entire endeavor and the profession of Amateurnithology as a whole.
The mistake was made by observing the bird's behaviors, which are similar to the aforementioned Anhinga. He swims low in the water and dries his wings in a similar way, to be exact. He is related to the Anhinga, but not closely enough to be in the same family. Anhingas have a much narrower head and beak, as well as an overall lighter, more colorful, and smaller body. Most damningly, however, Anhingas do not live in California, where this sighting was made. The Anhinga is native only to Florida, where the Amateurnithologist hails from. This serves as a (wholly inadequate) explanation as to how this mistake could have been made. We strive for greater quality than this at Bird Blog. You, dear readers, and the birds we catalog, deserve better. May we never speak of this again.
Double-Crested Cormorant
Oakland, California, USA
Cormorant Family
*true bird fact*~ He has exceptional longevity for a bird, living as long as 17 years in the wild (the average is a saddening 6 years).
Fashion-conscious
Comfortable with his body, confidant. A bird to strive to be like
A great dancer, but kind of a show-off
Sometimes pretends he is a fish when he dives underwater
You may be wondering now what an Anhinga looks like, but this birdtographer has not taken a picture of one yet. It is our usual policy to only include original works on Amateurnithologist, but in the interest of improving understanding, we provide this stock photo.
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