African skimmer
African skimmer | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Rynchops |
Species: | R. flavirostris
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Binomial name | |
Rynchops flavirostris Vieillot, 1816
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The African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris) is a species of bird belonging to the
Description
African skimmers have long wings, with a black back, hindneck, and crown. The forehead and rest of the body is white, with a bright, long, orange beak that ends with a yellow tip (black tip when immature), hence the specific name flavirostris, "yellow-beak." Their short forked tail is white, and their legs are bright red. The average size is about 38 cm (15 in) long. Their voice is a sharp "kip-kip". Their bill structure is unique; the lower mandible is much longer than the upper mandible, and is flattened sideways like scissor blades.[2]
Distribution and habitat
The African skimmer is found from
Behavior
African skimmers fly in lines over calm waters, and dip their lower
Reproduction
African skimmers nest in loose colonies on large sandbanks. The colonies typically consist of less than 50 pairs and each pair lays 2–3 (rarely 4) eggs in a scrape in the sand.[1] Sometimes African skimmer colonies are mixed with those of other sand bank nesting birds such as collared pratincole, pied avocet and white-fronted plover.[3]
Movements
African skimmers are partial intra-African migrants, they arrive in southern Africa when the water level of rivers starts falling at the beginning of the dry season, i.e. April–June, returning northwards after breeding when rivers start rising again at the start of the rainy season in November–January.[3]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ISBN 0-7136-3959-8.
- ^ a b c d "Rynchops flavirostris (African skimmer)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko Museums of South Africa. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
External links
- African skimmer - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.