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Just how does its neck not snap off? And how does it not choke on larger fish that it swallows? Nonetheless, watching this ungainly yet graceful bird dry out its wings and stretch them out with its sinewy neck looking one way and the other, is quite a sight! A waterbird with a very long, slender, snakelike neck, and a long, pointed bill. Breeding adults have a shiny black body with silvery-white streaks along the wings, a brownish crown and neck, and a white stripe running from the eye to the side of the neck. Non-breeding and immature plumage is duller and browner. Frequently seen swimming with only its neck and head visible above the water. Impales fish underwater with its dagger-like bill. Like cormorants, often perches upright on a rock, drying itself with outstretched wings. Seen sing
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