What to Know About the African Darter Bird in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda?

The African Darter in Uganda is one of the African Uganda Bird Species seen during Bird watching in Uganda. African darter is sometimes called a snake bird because it swims in water with only the neck and head on top. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.

In Uganda, the African darter bird can be found in Murchison falls national park. It is slightly big with a length between 81-97cm, wingspan 115-128cm and it weighs between 1050-1350g.

It belongs to the Class-Aves, Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum-Chordata, Order-Suliformes and Family-Anhingidae. It has a longevity of up to 16years in the wild.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Look Like?

The back of the neck of an African Darter male is crown, black and chestnut while the other neck part is chestnut, with visible white stripe from the sides of the face to mid-neck.

Its feathers are silver black dotted with white and silver on wings and mantle, prominently on elongated black scapulars’ plumages.

Its tail is long and dark, kept waved during resting. It has brown legs and webbed feet with golden eyes and horn-brown sharp pointed bill.

The male African darter has a larger bill that the female. The young African darter and their mother are much paler than the male. The female has less distinct stripe on the neck sides than the male.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

At nest, they usually utter a harsh croak but in most cases the African darter is silent.

Where Does the African Darter Bird in Murchison Falls-Uganda Live?

The African darter prefers fresh and salty waters surrounded by foliage. African Darter frequents fresh and brackish waters, fringed with vegetation, especially near shrubs.

They are popular in sub Saharan Africa and middle east. They do local migrations according to the rainfalls.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Behave?

African Darter is normally seen hanging on strong tree branches near water. If threatened, it drowns straight up into water.

After fishing, it dries its feathers with wings outstretched. The African Darter lives with other bird species like the egrets, herons and cormorants.

They can fly highly in the sky, often above the colony. The male African darter gather in groups of up to 100 birds and interact.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Feed?

It’s a carnivore bird and dives in water for long looking for fish. It can swim under water looking for its prey.

It uses the webbed feet to push itself and spears the fish in the flank, carries it to the shores where it throws the prey into the air, catches the bill and swallow the head first.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Breed?

African darter is highly monogamous, breeding is variable and prolonged depending of rainfalls. Their dating practices include wing-waving, snap-bowing and twig-grasping, neck-waving, sky pointing and sometimes they lift their wings up. Intercourse happens at the nest site.

Where Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Nest?

They locate their nests in trees, reeds or bushes on top of water or along the shores. The nest is made of sticks, reeds and creased with strong materials the males are tasked to provide materials as females build.

How Does the African Darter in Murchison Falls National Park-Uganda Reproduce?

Females lay about 3-4 pale green eggs; both the male and female incubate for up to 25-30days. Eggs are put on the webbed feet and hatching of chicks is altricial.

The chicks are then covered down for two days as both parents look after them. Chicks fledge at five weeks, and their parents continue feeding them for two more weeks before they are left to be independent. They reach sexual maturity at 2years.