Black skimmer

Black skimmers eat little fish.

When the beak touches a fish, it snaps shut!

Black skimmers eat mostly small fish that swim just below the surface, about 4 to 12 centimeters long, and some crustaceans (the group that includes crabs and shrimp).

A skimmer flies low over the water with its long lower bill slicing through the surface. It finds fish by touch, not by sight. When the bill touches a fish, the upper half snaps down to catch it. Skimmers often fish in the evening or at night, when the water may be calmer and more fish may be near the surface.

The diet is mostly small fish living just below the surface, 4 to 12 centimeters long, with fish under 2 centimeters fed to young; crustaceans and other marine invertebrates are also eaten (ADW; Audubon guide).

The skimmer flies low, furrowing the water with its lower mandible; when it contacts a fish, the upper mandible snaps down at once. It finds food by touch rather than sight and often forages in the late evening or at night, when the water may be calmer and more fish may be near the surface (Audubon guide, Kaufman 1996). ADW calls it a successful night forager that is also active by day and at dawn and dusk, foraging 5.2 to 8 kilometers from its colony. Rarely, it wades in very shallow water and scoops up fish.

Black skimmers live together in big groups.

They make a barking sound, a bit like a dog.

Black skimmers live in colonies, from a few pairs to several thousand. Their call is a short bark, which has been compared to a dog's. They bark to warn their neighbors of danger and to threaten neighbors that come into their territory.

During courtship, the male often brings the female a fish. If he can't find one, he may offer a stick or a leaf instead.

Colonies range from a few pairs to several thousand, with large colonies split into clusters of fewer than 50 pairs; nests are usually about 95 centimeters apart but up to 4 meters where space allows (ADW). The call is a short bark, described as like a dog's; birds bark to warn neighbors and to threaten intruders, with head tosses and an aggressive upright posture, and males bark at a lower pitch than females.

ADW describes courtship feeding, usually in the evening: the male presents a fish (or, failing that, a stick or leaf) to the female. Audubon's account (1996) says courtship is not well studied and may involve zigzagging flights in which two or more males pursue one female. Pairs keep watch in opposite directions, and alarms spread through the colony.

There are lots of black skimmers.

Their nests on the beach are easily disturbed.

The black skimmer is listed as least concern. Scientists estimate about 800,000 adults, about 60,000 of them in the United States and Canada (2024).

In the late 1800s, people collected skimmer eggs and killed the birds for their feathers, and numbers on the Atlantic coast of the United States fell. Since then their numbers have recovered well. Audubon's guide (1996) says nesting colonies are still very sensitive to disturbance.

BirdLife International assessed Rynchops niger as Least Concern for the IUCN Red List (assessed 5 June 2025, published 2025): an extremely large range and about 800,000 mature individuals globally (Partners in Flight 2024; band 500,000 to 999,999), 60,000 of them in the United States and Canada; the South American population is poorly known and the trend is unknown. The species was not found in trade databases (Donald et al. 2024).

Audubon's account (Kaufman 1996) records commercial egg harvesting and killing for feathers in the late 19th century, a later recovery, continued sensitivity to colony disturbance and a range expanding in the west. ADW (2007) lists threats from coastal construction, water recreation, fishing, crabbing, clamming and dredging, and from pesticides (thin eggshells), oil and metal contamination.