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Like a cormorant the darter fully submerges itself when hunting for fish. Unlike a cormorant however, the darter keeps its body submerged even when it surfaces. Only its long snake like neck and head are visible earning it the colloquial name of ‘snakebird’.

A darter has strongly developed muscles around a kink in the neck at the 8th and 9th vertebrae that allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to stab fish underwater. A fish speared underwater is brought to the surface to toss and juggle before swallowing it headfirst.