India GO
Bird · Anhinga melanogaster
Oriental darter (snakebird)
IUCN LC · Least concern
A cormorant-like bird that swims with only its long thin neck above water, which is exactly why it is called the snakebird. It spears fish rather than grabbing them.
👀 How to recognise it
Two clues: a kinked neck moving alone across the water, and birds perched with wings spread open to dry, since their feathers are not waterproof.
Where to see it
Mysore
Darters breed inside Mysore itself: Kukkarahalli, a tank built in 1864 for the city's water supply, holds a colony on an island left when a half-built bund washed away, and Karanji Lake has another.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary · Kukkarahalli Lake (often) · Karanji Lake Nature Park (often)