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| + | [[Image:Black_Skimmer.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Nick Richter<br>Photographed in Irvine, California.]] | ||
;[[:Category:Rynchops|Rynchops]] niger | ;[[:Category:Rynchops|Rynchops]] niger | ||
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==Identification: == | ==Identification: == | ||
18" (46 cm). Black above, white below, with red legs. Bill red with black tip, laterally compressed, blade-like. Unique among birds in having lower mandible much longer (about one-third) than the upper. Immature mottled above, with shorter bill. | 18" (46 cm). Black above, white below, with red legs. Bill red with black tip, laterally compressed, blade-like. Unique among birds in having lower mandible much longer (about one-third) than the upper. Immature mottled above, with shorter bill. | ||
| − | ==Habitat | + | |
| + | ==Distribution== | ||
| + | Breeds along Atlantic and Gulf coasts from [[Massachusetts]] and [[Long Island]] to [[Florida]] and [[Texas]]. Winters north to southern [[California]] and [[Virginia]]. Also in American tropics. | ||
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| + | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| + | There are 3 subspecies | ||
| + | * ''R n niger'' | ||
| + | * ''R n cinerascens'' | ||
| + | * ''R n intercedens'' | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Habitat== | ||
Breeds chiefly on sandbars and beaches; feeds in shallow bays, inlets, and estuaries. | Breeds chiefly on sandbars and beaches; feeds in shallow bays, inlets, and estuaries. | ||
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| − | == | + | ==Behaviour== |
| + | '''Nesting''': 3 or 4 brown-blotched buff eggs on bare sand, usually among shell fragments and scattered grass clumps. | ||
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| + | They skim the surface for fish, with the tip of the lower mandible cutting through the water. They also wade in shallow water, jabbing at the fish scattering before them. Compact flocks may be seen flying in unison, wheeling in one direction and then another. They are especially attracted to the sand fill of newly dredged areas; such places sometimes contain colonies of up to 200 pairs. These sites are usually temporary, abandoned as soon as too much grass appears. | ||
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| + | ====Vocalisation==== | ||
Short barking notes. | Short barking notes. | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 16:43, 31 October 2008
- Rynchops niger
Identification:
18" (46 cm). Black above, white below, with red legs. Bill red with black tip, laterally compressed, blade-like. Unique among birds in having lower mandible much longer (about one-third) than the upper. Immature mottled above, with shorter bill.
Distribution
Breeds along Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Massachusetts and Long Island to Florida and Texas. Winters north to southern California and Virginia. Also in American tropics.
Taxonomy
There are 3 subspecies
- R n niger
- R n cinerascens
- R n intercedens
Habitat
Breeds chiefly on sandbars and beaches; feeds in shallow bays, inlets, and estuaries.
Behaviour
Nesting: 3 or 4 brown-blotched buff eggs on bare sand, usually among shell fragments and scattered grass clumps.
They skim the surface for fish, with the tip of the lower mandible cutting through the water. They also wade in shallow water, jabbing at the fish scattering before them. Compact flocks may be seen flying in unison, wheeling in one direction and then another. They are especially attracted to the sand fill of newly dredged areas; such places sometimes contain colonies of up to 200 pairs. These sites are usually temporary, abandoned as soon as too much grass appears.
Vocalisation
Short barking notes.
