SKIMMERS 



(80) Rynchops nigra Linn. 



(Gr., beak, face; Lat., black). 



BLACK SKIMMER. Mandibles 

 long and thin, the lower one project- 

 ing beyond the upper. Ad. in sum- 

 mer — Plumage as shown. Bill 

 bright red, with a black tip. Tail 

 white, slightly forked. Wings very 

 long, folding far beyond the end of 

 the tail. Im. — Bill smaller and 

 mandibles more nearly equal. Head 

 and back grajdsh-brown with lighter 

 edges to the feathers. L., 18.00; W., 

 15.00; T., 5.00, forked 1.50; B., 4.00 

 (under), 3.00 (upper). Eggs — Three 

 or four, creamy-white, spotted with 

 dark brown and gray, 1.75 x 1.30; 

 laid in hollows in the sand. 



Range — Breeds along the Gulf 

 coast and north to Va. Wanders 

 rarely to Maine. 



Most curious of this whole Order are BLACK SKIM 

 MERS, otherwise known as "Razor-bills," "Cut-waters," 

 and "Sea Dogs," the latter name because the trumpetings 

 of a flock as they charge up the beach are quite similar to 

 the baying of a pack of hounds. They are very swift and 

 graceful while on the wing, but appear to be very clumsy 

 when on the ground; the legs seem too small, the neck 

 too long, the bill much too heavy, and the wings so large 

 that there is no place to fold them. Adults feed by skim- 

 ming over the water, the lower mandible dropped so that 

 the thin blade is cutting the surface and gathering in tiny 

 fish, upon which they live. The downy young leave 

 the hollow in the sand, that was the nest, a day or 

 two after hatching and wander about the beach, being 

 fed by their parents and also picking up small insects 

 on their own account. Their bills show little abnormal 

 development until after they have acquired the powers of 

 flight. 



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