Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) is a large bird with a long neck that is found in freshwater in the southeastern United States south into Central America. Although this species is found as far north as Illinois and North Carolina, it is most common in Florida. Another subspecies of the Anhinga is found in south America from Colombia to Argentina. The Anhinga feeds on fish.

There are two subspecies. The nominate subspecies Anhinga anhinga anhinga is found on the mainland of South America. The subspecies leucogaster is found from the south eastern United States west to Texas and south through Central America to Panama. This subspecies is also found in Cuba and Isle of Pines.

The darter or anhinga genus (Anhinga) is found on most of the large land masses of the earth. These birds feed primarily in freshwater, but on some occasions are known to visit brackish water. There are four species. These birds have very long necks, and they are able to dive for their food. All are about 32 to 36 inches in length. These birds frequently swim with the bodies submerged and just their head and neck above water. When on land they sometimes spread their wings to dry. (Clements in 2007 reduced Anhinga rufa to a subspecies of Anhinga melanogaster and he also reduced Anhinga novaehollandiae to a subspecies of Anhinga melanogaster. These changes reduce the species count in this genus to only two species.)

Anhinga Family (Anhingidae) contains long snake necked birds that live in warm freshwater lakes and ponds. The New World form is called Anhinga anhinga and it has two subspecies. The Old World form is called Anhinga melanogaster and it has three subspecies that are frequently elevated to full species status. An abbreviated summary of the forms in this family is as follows:

Anhinga anhinga anhinga - South America
Anhinga anhinga leucogaster - South United States, Mexico
Anhinga melanogaster rufa - Africa (South of Equator)
Anhinga melanogaster melanogaster - India, Indo-China, China
Anhinga melanogaster novaehollandiae - Australia

Pelicans and Allies (Order Pelecaniformes) contains six different families of marine birds. Most are large species and most feed on fish. One distinguishing feature of this order is the webbing that connects all four toes.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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