THE BIRD BOOK 
SKIMMERS. Family RYNCHOPID^E 
Skimmers are Tern-like birds having a very strangely developed bill. The 
lower mandible is much longer than the upper and very thin, the upper edge 
being as sharp as the lower. The lower mandible is rounded at the end while 
the upper is more pointed. Young Skimmers are said to have both mandibles 
of the same length, the abnormal development not appearing until after flight. 
Skimmers are very graceful birds, and, as implied by their name, they skim 
over the surface of the water, rising and falling with the waves, and are said 
to pick up their food by dropping the lower mandible below the surface, its thin 
edge cutting the water like a knife. There are four species of Skimmers, only 
one of which is found in North America. 
80. Black Skimmer. Ryncliops nigra. 
Range. — The South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, breeding from New Jersey 
southward. The Black Skimmer is about eighteen inches in length, and be- 
sides the remarkable bill is a bird of striking plumage; the forehead, ends of 
the secondaries, tail feathers and under parts are white; the rest of the plum- 
age is black and the basal half of the bill is crimson. Skimmers nest in large 
communities, the same as do the Terns, laying their eggs in hollows in the 
sand. They are partially nocturnal in their 
habits and their hoarse barking cries may 
be heard after the shadows of night have 
enveloped the earth. Fishermen call them 
by the names of “Cut-water” and “Sea Dog.” 
The nesting season commences in May and 
continues through June and July. They lay 
from three to five eggs, having a creamy 
or yellowish buff ground, blotched with 
black, chestnut and lilac. Size 1.75 x 1.30. 
Data.— Cobb’s Is., Va., June 8, 1894. Three 
eggs laid in a hollow on the beach. No 
nest. 
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