adult Indian skimmer,(Rynchops albicollis), with beak open to cool down, Rajasthan, India
The skimmers, forming the genus Rynchops, are tern-like birds in the family Laridae. The genus comprises three species found in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas. They were formerly known as the scissorbills. The three species are the only birds with distinctive uneven bills, where the lower mandible is longer than the upper. This remarkable adaptation allows them to fish in a unique way, flying low and fast over lower mandible skims or slices over the water's surface, ready to snap shut any small fish unable to dart clear. The skimmers are sometimes included within the gull family Laridae but separated in other treatments which consider them as a sister group of the black skimmer has an additional adaptation and is the only species of bird known to have slit-shaped pupils. Their bills fall within their field of binocular vision and enable them to carefully position their bill and capture are agile in flight and gather in large flocks along rivers and coastal sand banks.
Size: 5188px × 3523px
Location: Rajasthan, India
Photo credit: © Dominic Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: adaptation, adaptations, adpatation, adult, albicollis, animal, animals, asian, beak, beaks, bird, birds, flying, ground, india, indian, infia, mandible, nature, open, rajasthan, rynchops, skimmer, upper, water, wildlife
