or DARTER, in ornithology, a genus of birds. birds belonging to the order palmipedes. The bill is long and sharp-pointed; the nostrils are merely a long slit placed near the base; the face and chin are bare of feathers; the neck is very long; and the legs are short. They have four toes webbed together. There are three species of this genus, and three varieties of the second of these.

1. The plotus anhinga, or white-bellied darter, is not quite so big as a mallard; but its length from the point of the bill to the end of the tail is 10 inches. The bill, which is three inches long, is straight and pointed; the colour is greyish, with a yellowish base; the irides are of a gold colour; the head is small; the neck long and slender; the upper part of the back and scapulars are of a dusky black colour; the middle of the feathers are dished with white; the lower part of the back, &c., are of a fine black colour; the under parts from the breasts are silvery white; the smaller wing coverts, and those in the middle, are dusky black; the larger ones are spotted with white, and the outer ones are plain black; the tail feathers are 12 in number, broad, long, and glossy black; the legs and toes are of a yellowish grey. This species is an inhabitant of Brazil, and is exceedingly expert and cunning in catching fish. Like the corvortant, it builds nests on trees, and roosts in them at night. It is scarcely ever seen on the ground, being always on the highest branches of trees on the water, or such as grow in the moist savannas or river sides. When at rest, it generally sits with the neck drawn in between the shoulders like the heron. The flesh is in general very fat; but has an oily, rank, and disagreeable taste like that of a gull.

2. The anhinga of Cayenne, or black-bellied anhinga, is as large as a common duck, with a very long neck, and a long sharp-pointed straight bill. The upper part of the bill is of a pale blue, and the lower is reddish; the eyes are very piercing; the head, neck, and upper part of the breast are light brown; both sides of the head, and the upper part of the neck, are marked with a broad white line; the back, scapulars, and wing coverts, are marked with black and white stripes lengthwise in equal portions; the quill feathers, the belly, thighs, and tail, are of a deep black colour; the tail is very long and slender; the legs and feet are of a pale green colour; and the four toes, like those of the corvortant, are united by webs. This species is found in the islands of Ceylon and Java. They generally sit on the shrubs that hang over the water; and, when they shoot out their long slender necks, are often taken for serpents at first sight.

Mr Latham describes three varieties of this species, which are all equal in size to the common birds of the species. The first and second variety, which last Mr Latham calls the black darter, inhabit Cayenne; and third, or rufous darter, inhabits Africa, particularly Senegal, where it is called kandar.

3. The Surinam darter is about 12 inches long, being about the size of a teal. The bill is of a pale colour, and about 1½ inch in length; the irides are red; the crown of the head is black, and the feathers behind form a sort of crest; the neck, as in the other species, is long and slender; the cheeks are of a bright bay colour; from the corner of each eye there comes a line of white; the sides and back part of the neck are marked with longitudinal lines of black and white; the wings are black, and the tail is dusky brown; it is also tipped with white and shaped like a wedge; the breast and belly are white; the legs short, but very strong, and of a pale dusky colour; the four toes are joined by a membrane, and barred with black. This species inhabits Surinam, frequenting the sides of rivers and creeks, where it feeds on small fish and insects, especially on flies, which it catches with great dexterity. When domesticated, which often happens, the inhabitants call it the fin bird. Authors have differed exceedingly concerning the genus to which this species belongs, since it is found to differ from the others in some pretty essential characters; it agrees, however, in so many, and those the most essential, as sufficiently to excuse those naturalists who clasps it with the plotus genus. See Latham's Synopsis of Birds, vol. iii. part 2. p. 627.