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A Skimmer is a unique bird and there are three types, the Indian Skimmer, the Black Skimmer and the African Skimmer. They are very graceful, beautiful birds and you are very lucky to see one in flight. They stay around marshes, beaches and anywhere where shallow water is located. These three species differ in some details but are of the same family. The Indian Skimmer is found in southern Asia but is seriously declining in numbers. The Black Skimmer is found in both north and south America and the African Skimmer is found in Senegal and goes to the northern Congo and South as far as the Nile Valley, Southern Tanzania, the Zambezi Valley, Natal and Angola. All Skimmers are in very serious trouble due to pollution and disturbances from humans. Most of the Skimmer Colonies are unprotected but some are lucky enough to lie within nature reserves. They are classed right now as vulnerable.

All Skimmers have the same types of bills but they too vary in color and size. The Indian Skimmer is a short, forked tail Skimmer. Their bill is long, thick and orange in color with a yellow tip. Their forked tail is white and their legs and feet are red. The average sizes of these birds are about 18cm. long. Adult Skimmers that don't breed are browner and a bit duller than the ones that are breeding, while young Skimmers are grey and brown and pale fringes above the feathers on their back and wings. Their voices are very sharp and sound like a kip-kip.

The Black Skimmer is larger than the short, forked tailed Skimmer. They are a tern like seabird. They feed in warmer climates such as the Caribbean and the Pacific coast. These birds breed on sand banks or sandy beaches as do the three of these species and lay anywhere from three to seven eggs. Both the male and female care for the eggs and the chicks leave the nest as soon as they hatch and hide in the depression of the nest or dig their own until they are old enough to forage on their own. They usually stay near the parents who can shade them from high temperatures. The Black Skimmer is approximately 40 to 50 cm long and has a wingspan of 107 to 127 wide. The males weight a little more than the females. The inner part of their bills is red with the rest being mostly black. The lower mandible of this bill is long and flexible. Their eyes are unique in that they have dark brown irises that have a catlike vertical pupil. Their call is also unique in that it sounds like barking.

The African Skimmer has a very long wing. The back hind neck and crown are black while the rest of their bodies are white. It too has a long orange beak with a yellow tip at the end. Their average sizes are about 18cm. They also have a sharp" kip kip" to their voices. This bird has a unique bill structure where the lower mandible is much longer than the upper one and they are flattened sideways much like a pair of scissors they feed by feeling more than sight. They fly over calm waters and dip their lower bill into the waters to feed. The African Skimmer only lays one to four eggs in a large nest.

Skimmers are beautiful birds and hopefully they will be around to be a legacy to our children. Hopefully someone will notice just how rare they are becoming and make them a protected species before it's too late.

Learn more about this author, Betty Carew.
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