OF THE UNITED STATES 



193 



Speaking in a general way, the Black skimmer may be said 

 to have a plumage of black and white, while its feet in life are 

 red. They range in length from sixteen to twenty inches, and 

 the females are smaller than the males. During the breeding- 

 season the white of the under parts is tinted with a cream or 

 rose color, calling to mind similar changes in some' gulls. The 

 young are duller in color, being of a light grayish brown, though 

 they are white below. The form of the bill is not so decided, and 

 the upper and lower mandibles are of more equal length. Nest- 

 lings of this species are extremely interesting subjects for study. 

 A great many years ago, or in 1865, I had abundanl opportunity 

 to observe the habits of skimmers on the coasts of Florida, as 

 well as on the Bahama Islands and the West Indies. Along the 

 shore line of western and southern Florida especially, I saw thou- 

 sands of them in those days. They lit in extensive " flocks " on 

 the sand bars, or in loose, scattering parlies skimmed over the 

 surface of the water, often sallying up the large rivers for some 

 little distance or extending their flights to include the great 

 bayous that were not too far removed from the coast. They feed 

 principally at night or evening time, or upon cloudy days. Ac- 

 cording to Audubon, who has left us an excellent account of 

 Rynchops, " they spend the whole night on the wing, searching 

 diligently for food. Of this I had ample and satisfactory proof 

 when ascending the St. John river, in east Florida, in the United 

 States schooner Spark. The hoarse cries of the skimmers never 

 ceased more than an hour, so that I could easily know whether 

 they were passing upward or downward in the dark. Being 

 aware of the observations being made on this species by M. Les- 

 son, I paid all imaginable attention to them, always aided by an 

 excellent glass, in order to find whether or not they fed on bi- 

 valve shellfish found in the shallows of sand bars and other 

 places at low water, but not in one single instance did I see any 

 such occurrence, and in regard to this matter I agree with Wil- 

 son in asserting that, while with us, these birds do not feed on 

 shellfish. While watching the movements of the Black skim- 

 mer as it was searching for food, sometimes a full hour before it 

 was dark, I have seen it pass its lower mandible at an angle of 

 about forty-five degrees in the water, whilst its movable upper 

 mandible was elevated a little above the surface. In this man- 

 ner, with wings raised and extended, it plowed, as it were, the 

 element in which its quarry lay to the extent of several yards at 



