1.2 KiB
id, title, tags, daily, date-created
| id | title | tags | daily | date-created | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-27T17:11:14-0500 | 2026-02-27 17:11:14 |
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2026-02-27 | 2026-02-27T17:11:14-05:00 |
2026-02-27 17:11:14
I confidently identified a cormorant from a peripheral glance while I was driving. I wondered how I was able to distinguish it from the very similar anhinga (also a black diving bird with a yellow beak and of the same size) despite the distance and poor focus of the sighting, and I believe it was the silhouette.
While on the water's surface, Cormorants swim like geese or swans, with a S-shaped neck, where anhingas stretch their necks out forward with an upward angle to their beaks. It's because of this difference in posture that I associate cormorants with pride and dignity, where anhingas seem more to me like they're barely hanging on to their niche.
I'm reminded of a conversation I had recently with a peer. They stated (as I interpreted it) that despite how popular it is to pretend otherwise, animals do not experience emotion in any way meaningfully similar to our own perception. To which I agree. Certainly cormorants do not feel pride, nor do anhingas feel the insecurity I project onto them. but sometimes lies are more useful than truth.