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where they are shaded from high temperatures by the parents. They may dig their own depressions in the sand at times. Parents feed the young almost exclusively during the day with almost no feeding occurring at night, due to the entire population of adults sometimes departing the colony to forage. Although the mandibles are of equal length at hatching, they rapidly become unequal during fledging.
616:
to the nest site. The youngest chicks (under six days old) are fed as often as twelve times per day, with the oldest chicks (over twelve days old) being fed at least once per day. They primarily feed during low light levels at night, but have been observed to forage in the daytime in preparation for nighttime feeding.
530:
The black skimmer breeds in loose groups on sandbanks and sandy beaches in the
Americas, the three to seven heavily dark-blotched buff or bluish eggs being incubated by both the male and female. The chicks leave the nest as soon as they hatch and lie inconspicuously in the nest depression or "scrape"
615:
Female skimmers are more likely to be involved in caring for and feeding their chicks, though male skimmers have been observed feeding larger prey to their older chicks. The survival of black skimmer chicks is highly dependent on the availability and quality of adequately sized prey closely located
463:
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
479:
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.
1226:
539:
Skimmers have a light graceful flight, with steady beats of their long wings. They usually feed in large flocks, flying low over the water surface with the lower mandible skimming the water for (in order of importance) small fish,
483:
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.
1069:
651:
464:
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
554:
572:
608:
280:
coasts, but South
American populations make only shorter movements in response to annual floods which extend their feeding areas in the river shallows.
1665:
560:
934:
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Systema
Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis
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Juveniles at four weeks. They are distinguished from adults by the white speckled pattern on their wings and body.
663:
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They spend much time loafing gregariously on sandbars in the rivers, coasts and lagoons they frequent.
712:
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74:
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1308:
511:
8:
1437:
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39:
689:
627:
1313:
1070:"Investigating Black Skimmer Chick Diets Using Citizen Science and Digital Photography"
1034:
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578:
206:
69:
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is the Latin word for "black". The black skimmer is one of three species in the genus
1660:
1575:
1383:
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1135:
1116:
1089:
908:
861:
776:
1388:
1232:
1081:
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Gochfeld, M.; Burger, J.; Lefevre, K. L. (4 March 2020). Billerman, Shawn M (ed.).
707:
602:
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126:
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743:(in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 138.
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occurs on the rest of the
Atlantic coast of South America south to central
421:
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is larger, has dusky underwings, only narrow white fringe to its black tail
900:
30:
1601:
1554:
1510:
1458:
1282:
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1085:
834:"Black Skimmer Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab Of Ornithology"
552:
caught by touch by day or especially at night. Fish prey species include
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882:
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Black
Skimmers often sleep flat on the ground with their beaks extended.
1627:
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96:
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Mariano-Jelicich, R; Favero, M.; Silva, M.P. (February 2003).
1396:
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505:
472:, unique for a bird. The legs are red. The call is a barking
469:
988:
681:
253:
237:
116:
420:
breeds in northern and northeastern South
America and the
288:
The black skimmer was described by the
Swedish naturalist
1033:
Pandhi, Mithil (2007). Dewey, Tanya; Fraser, Ann (eds.).
465:
687:
984:
982:
860:by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992),
995:at Mar Chiquita, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina"
979:
713:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22694256A93442996.en
1647:
950:
933:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
768:The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names
1113:A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
798:
244:, one of three similar bird species in the
895:. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.
385:coast of North America, and from southern
197:
48:
29:
1666:Native birds of the Eastern United States
946:
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733:
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810:. International Ornithologists' Union.
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1115:(2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing.
1067:
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771:. London: Christopher Helm. pp.
967:from the original on 2 November 2023
1656:IUCN Red List least concern species
1223:) with Range Map at bird-stamps.org
1049:from the original on 12 August 2023
915:from the original on 17 August 2023
871:
699:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
325:meaning "to cut off". The specific
13:
1149:A guide to the birds of Costa Rica
1068:Forys, Elizabeth A. (2017-01-01).
951:Kaufman, Kenn (13 November 2014).
851:
814:from the original on 8 August 2019
789:
14:
1692:
1175:
858:CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses
272:and the tropical and subtropical
991:"Fish Prey of the Black Skimmer
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650:
638:
626:
428:
398:
356:
73:
1061:
1026:
1015:from the original on 2018-04-26
840:from the original on 2018-09-24
802:; Donsker, David, eds. (2019).
747:from the original on 2017-12-01
688:BirdLife International (2016).
826:
758:
727:
619:
458:
1:
1104:
961:Guide to North American Birds
804:"Noddies, gulls, terns, auks"
256:family Laridae. It breeds in
1451:black-skimmer-rynchops-niger
1229:at VIREO (Drexel University)
1134:. London: Christopher Helm.
336:There are three subspecies:
268:in the warmer waters of the
7:
1681:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
1227:Black skimmer photo gallery
808:World Bird List Version 9.2
525:
283:
10:
1697:
765:Jobling, James A. (2010).
555:Odontesthes argentinenesis
534:
1257:
1233:Interactive range map of
1111:ffrench, Richard (1991).
381:migratory, breeds on the
321:meaning "bill" and κοπτω/
212:
205:
196:
175:
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70:Scientific classification
68:
46:
37:
28:
23:
1188:Internet Bird Collection
1130:Hilty, Steven L (2003).
706:: e.T22694256A93442996.
674:
1676:Birds described in 1758
1074:Southeastern Naturalist
573:Lycengraulis grossidens
264:. Northern populations
519:
508:
497:
1671:Birds of the Americas
1589:Paleobiology Database
1196:Field Guide on Flickr
1183:"Black skimmer media"
1151:by Stiles and Skutch
901:10.2173/bow.blkski.01
645:Adult feeding a chick
597:Fundulus heteroclitus
514:
503:
495:
488:Behaviour and ecology
1086:10.1656/058.016.0301
1043:Animal Diversity Web
669:Adult winter plumage
585:Pomatomus saltatrix
218:Linnaeus, 1758
40:Conservation status
1240:IUCN Red List maps
1132:Birds of Venezuela
1002:Marine Ornithology
893:Birds of the World
609:Odontesthes incisa
579:Engraulis anchoita
520:
509:
504:feeding in water,
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1643:
1642:
1576:Open Tree of Life
1251:Taxon identifiers
1170:978-0-7136-3510-2
866:978-0-8493-4258-5
782:978-1-4081-2501-4
456:
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436:R. n. intercedens
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406:R. n. cinerascens
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309:. The genus name
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1039:(Black skimmer)"
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393:in the Pacific
299:Systema Naturae
292:in 1755 in the
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127:Charadriiformes
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1327:rynchops-niger
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1314:Rynchops_niger
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1289:Rynchops niger
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1259:Rynchops niger
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1176:External links
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307:Rynchops niger
302:and given the
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215:Rynchops fulva
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1164:by Harrison,
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971:23 September
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929:cite journal
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231:
227:
225:
214:
213:
178:
176:
160:
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1602:SeaLifeBase
1537:Neotropical
1511:NatureServe
1459:iNaturalist
1283:Wikispecies
1008:: 199–202.
963:. Audubon.
800:Gill, Frank
719:12 November
620:Development
546:crustaceans
474:kak-kak-kak
459:Description
364:R. n. niger
348:Description
1650:Categories
1628:Xeno-canto
1105:References
1080:(3): 317.
1019:2009-06-29
844:2011-10-20
751:2017-11-21
387:California
345:Subspecies
1217:Nicaragua
1094:1528-7092
909:216218414
515:Feeding,
468:vertical
451:Argentina
270:Caribbean
155:Species:
93:Kingdom:
87:Eukaryota
1661:Rynchops
1516:2.105078
1503:22694256
1477:10218333
1415:45509262
1353:22694256
1348:BirdLife
1268:Wikidata
1162:Seabirds
1047:Archived
1010:Archived
965:Archived
913:Archived
838:Archived
836:. 2011.
812:Archived
745:Archived
737:(1758).
550:molluscs
526:Breeding
441:Saunders
411:von Spix
383:Atlantic
369:Linnaeus
331:Rynchops
319:rhunkhos
311:Rynchops
284:Taxonomy
278:Atlantic
250:Rynchops
207:Synonyms
186:Linnaeus
148:Rynchops
133:Family:
107:Chordata
103:Phylum:
97:Animalia
83:Domain:
60:IUCN 3.1
1607:2381360
1428:2481209
1335:Avibase
1274:Q516662
1221:Uruguay
1205:Antigua
818:24 June
775:, 344.
542:insects
535:Feeding
466:catlike
443:, 1895)
413:, 1825)
391:Ecuador
317:ῥυvχος/
296:of his
274:Pacific
252:in the
246:skimmer
242:seabird
236:) is a
143:Genus:
137:Laridae
123:Order:
113:Class:
58: (
1620:159079
1594:402398
1581:738512
1568:159079
1542:blkski
1529:227184
1490:554447
1435:GNAB:
1402:blkski
1376:blkski
1322:ARKive
1302:blaski
1209:Mexico
1201:Stamps
1168:
1155:
1138:
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1092:
1053:30 May
907:
864:
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517:Brazil
266:winter
248:genus
240:-like
1615:WoRMS
1555:73039
1472:IRMNG
1397:eBird
1389:78Z8K
1373:BOW:
1366:10205
1213:Nevis
1203:(for
1013:(PDF)
998:(PDF)
905:S2CID
675:Notes
506:Texas
470:pupil
342:Image
327:niger
323:koptō
258:North
1563:OBIS
1524:NCBI
1498:IUCN
1485:ITIS
1464:4496
1423:GBIF
1361:BOLD
1166:ISBN
1153:ISBN
1136:ISBN
1117:ISBN
1090:ISSN
1055:2023
973:2021
935:link
921:2021
862:ISBN
820:2019
777:ISBN
721:2021
704:2016
606:and
548:and
373:1758
276:and
260:and
254:gull
238:tern
226:The
190:1758
117:Aves
1446:IBC
1410:EoL
1384:CoL
1309:ADW
1298:ABA
1238:at
1082:doi
897:doi
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