Rare ‘Devil Bird’ from the South Seen for the First Time in Maine

Maine has had its fair share of rare bird visitors.

Over the years, Maine has been an accidental home to some fairly exotic birds. The Stellar's Sea Eagle was a huge hit for a minute. There was also the rare Great Black hawk that was long way from home, and eventually had to be put down, because of it's inability to adapt to or climate.

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Sometimes, we can also get birds from the southern part of our country, because they can occasionally get caught up in the winds from hurricanes that blow them way off course. Since Hurricane Beryl just happened, it's possibly an explanation for why a few lucky Mainers have spotted a recent guest that's a bit far from home. Sometimes they just simply wander off, looking for food.

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A few folks have spotted an anhinga, or 'Devil bird'.

The anhinga is a bird that may remind a lot of us around here, of a cormorant or even a heron. If you were to spot in silhouette, it'd definitely be a bit of a headscratcher. But anhingas are typically from much farther south in the US. Their typical habitats would be in states like the Carolinas, or Texas. Even further into Mexico and Peru.

This wanderer won't mind our climate right at the moment, but they usually want to be in warm, swampy areas. We have plenty of that right now, but come October/November and into the winter, things won't be nearly as hospitable. Likely, this guy will probably start to get chilly and head out of here.

Where are Mainers seeing anhingas?

According to CentralMaine.com, it was spotted in Somerville, out in a meadow in just outside of Augusta. There haven't been a ton of sightings, but it's stirring up a lot of dust in Maine's bird world. One has never been seen here before, so it's pretty exciting, and it's hard to say where it will pop up next.

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It's called a Devil Bird from a tribe in Brazil, that says it embodies the evil spirits of the woods. I think it's called that because it's just kind of ugly. Ugly animals tend to get stuck with crappy nicknames. But, this is truly exciting for Maine's birders. If more sightings become widespread, we'll let you know where you might be able to see one.

Let's enjoy more mysterious animal stuff...