The Oriental Darter or Indian 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 a cormorant, it hunts for fish while it hunts with its body submerged in water. It spears fish underwater, brings it to the surface and tosses it into the air before swallowing. The body remains submerged as it swims and the slender neck alone is visible above the water leading to its other name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry.
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Famous quotes containing the word oriental:
“The Oriental philosophy approaches easily loftier themes than the modern aspires to; and no wonder if it sometimes prattle about them. It only assigns their due rank respectively to Action and Contemplation, or rather does full justice to the latter. Western philosophers have not conceived of the significance of Contemplation in their sense.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)