A flock of Black Skimmers lands on the Beach, amongst a group of Gulls, at Cape Canaveral Beach.
The black skimmer (Rynchops niger) is a tern-like seabird, one of three very similar birds species in the skimmer genus Rynchops in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer waters of the Caribbean and the tropical and subtropical Pacific coasts, but the South American races make only shorter movements in response to annual floods which extend their feeding areas in the river shallows. 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 ( to oz), with males averaging about 349 g ( oz), as compared to the smaller female's 254 g ( 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. 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. 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. Skimmers have a light graceful flight, with steady beats of their long wings. They feed usually in large flocks, flying low over the water surface with the lower mandible skimming the water (in order of importance) for small fish, insects, crustaceans and molluscs caught by touch by day or especially at night.
Size: 5338px × 3380px
Location: Cape Canaveral Beach, (Nr Jackson Avenue), Florida, USA
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: atlantic, atricilla, beach, bird, birds, black, canaveral, cape, coast, flight, flock, flocks, flying, graceful, gull, large, laughing, leucophaeus, light, long, mandible, niger, ocean, plumage, rynchops, sand, sea, seabird, seabirds, seagull, skimmers, skimming, space, tern-, water, wings, winter
