Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Unusual tern-like bird with oversized bill—lower mandible is much longer than upper mandible. Feeds by flying close to surface of water and dipping its lower mandible into the water "skimming" for small fish. Found coastally, especially beaches and sandbars. Barking "yip" calls might clue you in to a flock in flight.
Identification
The black skimmer is the largest of the three skimmer species. It measures 40–50 cm (16–20 in) long with a 107–127 cm (42–50 in) wingspan. This species ranges from 212 to 447 g (7.5 to 15.8 oz), with males averaging about 349 g (12.3 oz), as compared to the smaller females 254 g (9.0 oz). The basal half of the bill is red, the rest mainly black, and the lower mandible is much-elongated. The eye has a dark brown iris and catlike vertical pupil, unique for a bird. The legs are red. The call is a barking kak-kak-kak.<p>Adults in breeding plumage have a black crown, nape and upper body. The forehead and underparts are white. The upper wings are black with white on the rear edge, and the tail and rump are dark grey with white edges. The underwing colour varies from white to dusky grey depending on region.<p>Non-breeding adults have paler and browner upperparts, and a white nape collar. Immature birds have brown upperparts with white feather tips and fringes. The underparts and forehead are white, and the underwings as the adult.
Taxonomy
The black skimmer was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1755 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and given the binomial name Rynchops niger. The genus name Rynchops is from the Ancient Greek ῥυvχος/rhunkhos meaning "bill" and κοπτω/koptō meaning "to cut off". The specific niger is the Latin word for "black". The black skimmer is one of three species in the genus Rynchops.<p>There are three subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Rynchops niger
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Rynchops
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sjöstedt's Greenbul
Baeopogon clamans
A unusual dark greenbul often found near water in the forest interior. Decorated in various shades of dark and olive green, with a gray throat that contrasts with the breast, a buffy belly, and bright white sides of the tail. Can be confused with both Honeyguide Greenbul and actual honeyguides, but the flight is direct rather than undulating, the throat contrasts with the breast, the eyes are always dark, and the vocalizations are distinctive. Can be located by its “REHR!” calls, often followed by a series of fast, scratchy notes and sometimes repeated for minutes on end.
Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher
Poecilotriccus sylvia
Very small, rather skulking flycatcher of dense tangles and thickets in humid tropical lowlands. Hops around like a sluggish warbler, often pausing motionless for long periods. Plumage is similar to many flycatchers—grayish head, olive upperparts with yellowish wing edgings, and pale yellowish belly—but note the rather long bill, pale eyes, habitat, and behavior. Similar Northern Bentbill favors more open forest understory, perches more upright, and has bent bill.
Banded Kestrel
Falco zoniventris
Atypical kestrel that is marked more like a small hawk, with a gray back and a barred belly. Uncommon to rare Madagascar endemic that is found patchily across the island in and adjacent to forest. Absent from most of the east and center of the island. Sits motionless on prominent perches for long periods. Flights are short, low, and infrequent. Call is a quick rolling “tr-r-r-r.” Larger and chunkier than Madagascar Kestrel, gray rather than rufous, and with broad bars on the belly. Separated from sparrowhawks by big-headed kestrel shape and upright posture.
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