Black Skimmer

Rynchops niger

Last updated 3/22/96

Black Skimmers are common year round residents of the UTC. No other bird had a lower mandible longer than the upper mandible. There is no other skimmer species to confuse it with on the UTC

Skimmers flow low on their long wings, plowing the water with that long mandible and snapping it shut on any fish it encounters. They will often fly back and forth covering then same stretch over and over.

Look for Black Skimmer at Bolivar Flats, Rollover Pass, and Galveston Island State Park

A breeding range map is available form the Breeding Bird Survey
A winter range map is available from the Christmas Bird Count

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