It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water.

The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird.

Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry.

[8] In flight the long and slender neck, wide wing and wedge shaped tail make it distinctive.

[11] The tail is long and made up of twelve stiff feathers which are dragged along the ground when the bird attempts to walk or hop on land.

They usually forage singly, with the entire body submerged, swimming slowly forward using their webbed feet while the head and neck is moved jerkily above the water.

[16] The usual clutch consists of three to six spindle shaped bluish-green eggs with a white chalky covering that gets soiled over time.

[14] Adults go through a synchronous moult of their flight feathers after the breeding season, resulting in the loss of flying ability for a brief period.

[20] A number of parasites have been recorded from adult birds including Schwartzitrema anhingi (Trematoda),[21] Petasiger nicolli,[22] Mesorchis pendulus,[23] and Echinorhynchotaenia tritesticulata (Cestoda:Dilepididae).

[14] A ring is tied around the neck to prevent them from swallowing the prey just as is done with cormorant fishing in parts of Southeast Asia.