SKIMMERS—Family Rynchopidæ
BLACK SKIMMER
80. Rynchops nigra. 18 in.
These strange birds are not apt to be mistaken for any other. They are locally abundant on the South Atlantic coast as far north as Virginia. Their flight is swift and more direct than that of terns; they fly in compact flocks, in long sweeps over the water, feeding by dropping their long, thin mandible beneath the surface and gathering in everything edible that comes in their path.
Notes.—Baying like a pack of hounds.
Nest.—Their 3 or 4 eggs are deposited in hollows in the sandy beaches. They are creamy-white, beautifully marked with blackish-brown and gray (1.75 × 1.30).
Range.—Breeds on the Gulf coast and on the Atlantic coast to New Jersey; after nesting, they occasionally wander northward as far as Nova Scotia; winters from the Gulf States southwards.
