Black Skimmer
The photographs displayed on the post were taken at different time at a sandbar on the west coast of Florida.
The Black Skimmer is a tern-like seabird. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer waters of the Caribbean and the tropical and subtropical Pacific coasts.
Parents feed the young almost exclusively during the day with almost no feeding occurring at night, due to the entire population of adults sometimes departing the colony to forage. Although the mandibles are of equal length at hatching, they rapidly become unequal during fledging.
Large flock of Black Skimmers in flight and on sandbar
The basal half of the bill is red, the rest mainly black, and the lower mandible is much-elongated. The eye has a dark brown iris and catlike vertical pupil, unique for a bird. The legs are red.
Adults in breeding plumage have a black crown, nape and upper body. The forehead and underparts are white. The upper wings are black with white on the rear edge, and the tail and rump are dark grey with white edges. The underwing color varies from white to dusky grey depending on region.
Skimmers have a light graceful flight, with steady beats of their long wings. They feed usually in large flocks, flying low over the water surface with the lower mandible skimming the water for small fish, insects, crustaceans and mollusks caught by touch by day or especially at night. They spend much time loafing gregariously on sandbars in the rivers, coasts and lagoons they frequent.
Click on images to see enlargements
Text and photographs © H.J. Ruiz – Avian 101
H.J. Ruiz - Avian101 
The red beak (or else red in general) seems to be quite common amongst birds. I am curious about what this red thing means….
I believe that the red in this case signifies maturity, the real curious thing with these birds is their beaks, when they are immature and still growing up both their mandibles upper and lower are same length, then the lower starts growing longer and longer to get to maturity as they look in the pictures above.
Most interesting bird I’ve seen yet. Beautiful! I learn so much about birds from your site H.J. Thank you.
Thanks BD! I appreciate you comment very much! 🙂
Unique-looking bird!
Yes! Not only that but you should see how it catches its food by flying and skimming the waters of the sea like scissors cutting paper! 🙂
I think this bird should be called the Pointy Penguin
🙂
Nice captures. I like to watch these birds in action.
They are cool flyers!
I think they look like funky penguins
🙂 Ha, ha!
Oooooooooh, they’re pretty!
Odd but ok!