Conservation Status
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Distribution
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Western, Central and Eastern Africa: Senegal - Ethiopia south through W and S Kenya to Tropic of Capricorn.
Habitat
provided by Afrotropical Birds LifeDesk
Rivers at low water, open marshes, less common at coast (Lack 2010).
Expanses of calm water for feeding (BirdLife International 2011); breeding along broad rivers on large, dry sandbars that are largely free from vegetation (sometimes on sandy lake shores, and very occasionally on sandy sea shores).
Movements and dispersal
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Trophic Strategy
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It feeds on fish, foraging exclusively in the fashion characteristic of the family Rynchopidae, namely by skimming the water in flight with its mouth open and lower mandible submerged.
Biology
provided by Arkive
With its uniquely shaped bill, the African skimmer flies low over calm water, with the long lower 'blade' of the bill dipping into the water (3). The bill snaps shut when it touches a fish (4), which is then swallowed in flight or after landing (2). African skimmers feed mostly at dusk, dawn and during the night, and rest during the warmer day when their fish prey is less likely to be at the surface of the water (3).
Pairs of African skimmers nest in loose colonies on expansive sandbanks (3), where they lay a clutch of two to three eggs over several days, into a scrape in the sand (2). The eggs are incubated, primarily by the female, for around 21 days, after which the buffy-white chicks hatch (2). In the blistering heat of their sub-Saharan African habitat, African skimmers have been observed dampening their breast feathers in the water before returning to the nest to wet and cool their eggs or young (3). The chicks, whose plumage is peppered with small black dots, are fed fish by both parents until they fledge at around four weeks (2). In West and East Africa, eggs are laid generally from March to June, while south of the equator, laying occurs from July to November (2). The colonies of eggs are vulnerable to being trampled by hippopotami and elephants and to raising river water levels which could destroy an entire colony (2).
Conservation
provided by Arkive
The African skimmer is listed on the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). Parties to the agreement, which include Ghana, Gambia, Kenya and Nigeria, are called upon to engage in a wide range of conservation actions (5). It has been recommended that further studies are undertaken to clarify the population status and trends of the African skimmer, in addition to raising public awareness of this eye-catching bird's conservation needs (1).
Description
provided by Arkive
The African skimmer cuts a striking silhouette as it flies with slow wingbeats over the rivers and lakes of sub-Saharan Africa. Its long, black, scimitar-shaped wings and the distinctive structure of its long, bright orange bill tipped with yellow gives the African skimmer an air of the prehistoric (3). The lower half of the bill is much longer than the upper half and flattened like scissor blades (4). The plumage on the back and crown is jet black, contrasting sharply with the white underparts, forehead and short, forked tail. Its monochromatic body colouring makes the vividly coloured bill and bright red legs all the more arresting (3).
Habitat
provided by Arkive
The African skimmer inhabits broad rivers, coastal lagoons, open marshes and lakes, resting and breeding on large, dry sandbars and beaches (1) (2).
Range
provided by Arkive
Occurs in sub-Saharan Africa; from Senegal, east to Ethiopia, and south to Namibia and Botswana (1) (2).
Status
provided by Arkive
Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1).
Threats
provided by Arkive
Numbers of the African skimmer are believed to be declining (1); the result of numerous impacts on their wetland habitat. The construction of dams has flooded habitats upstream and altered the flow downstream, destroying suitable breeding habitat. The spraying of DDT to control malarial mosquitoes, tsetse flies and agricultural pests, along with other water pollutants, accumulates in fish and can be damaging to fish-eating birds such as the African skimmer. Humans and cattle can disturb colonies with fatal consequences for eggs and chicks, and the collection of eggs also occurs in some areas. The African skimmer may also be impacted through declines in their food supply caused by pollution, over-fishing and the effects of introduced predatory fish (1) (2).
Status in Egypt
provided by Bibliotheca Alexandrina LifeDesk
Resident breeder? and regular passage visitor.
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- BA Cultnat
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- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
African skimmer
provided by wikipedia EN
The African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris) is a species of bird belonging to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae. It is found along rivers, lakes and lagoons in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1]
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 Senegal to northern Congo River and southern Nile Valley, southern Tanzania to the Zambezi Valley, and then to KwaZulu-Natal Province (South Africa) and Angola. They live at large tropical rivers with sandbanks for nesting and roosting, lake shores, and coastal lagoons. The African skimmer is generally uncommon and the total populations is estimated at 15,000–25,000 individuals.[1][3]
Behavior
African skimmers fly in lines over calm waters, and dip their lower mandibles in the water to feed.[1] When the mandible touches a fish, the skimmer snaps its mouth shut. They feed mostly at dawn and dusk and have good night vision. The following fish have been recorded as prey for African skimmers: Micralestes, Tilapia, Barbus, Marcusenius , Hepsetus, Aplocheilichthys and Petrocephalus.[3]
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
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African skimmer: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
The African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris) is a species of bird belonging to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae. It is found along rivers, lakes and lagoons in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Description
provided by World Register of Marine Species
Length: 36-40 cm. Plumage: whole of back and wings black; forehead and trailing edge of secondaries in spread wing white; below white; some white speckling on nape and forecrown in non-breeding bird, demarcation between white forehead and black crown clearcut in breeding bird; tail whitish. Immature much duller with buff edges to feathers of head and upperparts. Bare parts: iris brown; bill with shorter upper mandible vermilion, much longer lower mandible orange merging to yellow at tip; feet and legs vermilion. Habitat: coastal lagoons and estuaries. Endemic resident and intra-African migrant.
Urban, E. K.; Fry, C. H.; Keith, S. (1986). The Birds of Africa, Volume II. Academic Press, London.
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Habitat
provided by World Register of Marine Species
coastal regions (and inland)
van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).
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