SKIMMERS Family Rynchopidae 

 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. (1.75x1.30). 



Range. Breeds on the Gulf coast and on the Atlantic 

 coast to New Jersey; after nesting, they occasionally 

 wander northward as far as Nova Scotia; winters from 

 the Gulf States southwards. 



