SKIMMERS—Family Rynchopide 
BLACK SKIMMER 
80. Rynchops nigra. 18 in. 
These strange birds are not apt to be mistaken for ~ 
any other. They are locally abundant on the South 
Atlantic coast as far north as Virginia. Their flight 
is swift and more direct than that of terns; they fly | 
in compact flocks, in long sweeps over the water, feed- — 
ing by dropping their long, thin mandible beneath the | 
surface and gathering in everything edible that comes ~~ 
in their path. 
Notes.—Baying like a pack of hounds. 
Nest.—Their 3 or 4 eggs are deposited in hollows in, 
the sandy beaches. They are creamy-white, beautifully 
marked with blackish-brown and gray. (1.75 x 1.30). 
Range.—Breeds on the Gulf coast and on the Atlantie 
coast to New Jersey; after nesting, they occasionally 
wander northward as far as Nova Scotia; winters from 
the Gulf States southwards. 
