Suliformes – Cormorants & allies
Unlike most waterbirds, Suliformes have four webbed toes instead of three
Members of this order are colorfully named, fish-eating birds, including frigatebirds, gannets and boobies, cormorants and shags, anhinga, and darters.
Frigatebirds are huge birds that have long black wings. They soar gracefully in the sky for hours at a time! The gannets and the boobies are much smaller in size – the former usually black and white, and the latter has varied colors.
The cormorants and shags make up most of this order, with about 40 species of birds found all over the planet. Anhinga, cormorants, and darters need to spend plenty of time drying out their wings after a plunge in the water, as their feathers are not as waterproof as many other aquatic birds.
Families in this order
We don’t need to drink water: all the water they require is provided by fish that they eat
These seabirds have air sacs under their skin to cushion their bodies against the impact of breaking the water’s surface
Take their name from the infamously swift and maneuverable man-o-warships that once battled on the high seas
Nicknamed ‘snakebirds’ because they hunt with just their head and long s-shaped neck extending above the water’s surface
