Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Mostardas, Brazil • November 2009

Bird name: Black Skimmer
Latin: Rynchops niger
Other: Talha-mar (Br)
Family: Laridae • Skimmers

The Black Skimmer is unmistakable by its large red and black bill and large size. Here a few were standing with a group of common terns on the beach - although Skimmers are not Terns, they are very similar to Terns.

There are only three species of Skimmer in the world, all with the protruding lower bill which they use to skim fish out of the sea, and cat-like vertical pupils, which are unique in the bird world.

The Black Skimmer lives in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

More photos...

066 Family: Laridae - Gulls, Terns & Skimmers - IOC 2.5 - 2010

Skimmers Rynchops and terns with gulls - separation of Rynchopidae and Sternidae problematic.

Anous stolidus - Brown Noddy - Widespread Tropical Ocean
Anous tenuirostris - Lesser Noddy - W, NW Indian Ocean - Sooty Noddy?
Anous minutus - Black Noddy - tropical

Procelsterna cerulea - Blue Noddy - W, C Pacific Ocean
Procelsterna albivitta - Grey Noddy - S Pacific Ocean

Rynchops niger - Black Skimmer - Widespread North America, Latin America
Rynchops flavirostris - African Skimmer - Widespread Africa
Rynchops albicollis - Indian Skimmer - E Pakistan to Burma

Gygis alba - White Tern - Widespread Tropical Ocean - Angel Tern?

Creagrus furcatus - Swallow-tailed Gull - Galápagos Islands - W South America coasts

Rissa tridactyla - Black-legged Kittiwake - N coasts - N Atlantic & Pacific
Rissa brevirostris - Red-legged Kittiwake - Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands - N Pacific

Pagophila eburnea - Ivory Gull - N coasts - Arctic Ocean

Xema sabini - Sabine's Gull - N coasts - NW South America, SW Africa, coasts

Chroicocephalus genei - Slender-billed Gull - SW Eurasia
Chroicocephalus philadelphia - Bonaparte's Gull - NC, NW North America - South America & N Central America coasts
Chroicocephalus scopulinus - Red-billed Gull - New Zealand
Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae - Silver Gull - Australia
Chroicocephalus bulleri - Black-billed Gull - New Zealand
Chroicocephalus serranus - Andean Gull - W South America
Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus - Brown-headed Gull - C Eurasia - Middle East, Asia
Chroicocephalus maculipennis - Brown-hooded Gull - E, S coasts
Chroicocephalus ridibundus - Black-headed Gull - Widespread Eurasia - Africa, Asia - Now Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus - Grey-hooded Gull - Widespread South America, Africa
Chroicocephalus hartlaubii - Hartlaub's Gull - SW coast
Chroicocephalus saundersi - Saunders's Gull - E coast

Hydrocoloeus minutus - Little Gull - C Eurasia, North America - E North America, W Europe

Rhodostethia rosea - Ross's Gull - N coasts - Arctic Ocean

Leucophaeus scoresbii - Dolphin Gull - extreme S coasts
Leucophaeus fuliginosus - Lava Gull - Galápagos Islands
Leucophaeus atricilla - Laughing Gull - Widespread North America, Latin America coasts
Leucophaeus pipixcan - Franklin's Gull - C North America - W Latin America coasts
Leucophaeus modestus - Grey Gull - WC coast

Ichthyaetus relictus - Relict Gull - C Eurasia - E China
Ichthyaetus audouinii - Audouin's Gull - Med & NW Africa coasts
Ichthyaetus melanocephalus - Mediterranean Gull - W Eurasia - Med coasts
Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus - Pallas's Gull - C Eurasia - Middle East, India - Was Great Black-headed Gull
Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus - White-eyed Gull - Red Sea
Ichthyaetus hemprichii - Sooty Gull - east Africa & Middle East coasts

Larus pacificus - Pacific Gull - S, W Australian coasts
Larus belcheri - Belcher's Gull - WC coast - Was Band-tailed Gull
Larus atlanticus - Olrog's Gull - SE coast
Larus crassirostris - Black-tailed Gull - E coast
Larus heermanni - Heermann's Gull - W coast
Larus canus - Mew Gull - W Europe to Siberia & NW North America - widespread
Larus delawarensis - Ring-billed Gull - Widespread North America, Middle America
Larus californicus - California Gull - NC, W North America, Middle America
Larus marinus - Great Black-backed Gull - coastal E North America & W Europe
Larus dominicanus - Kelp Gull - S coasts
Larus glaucescens - Glaucous-winged Gull - coastal N Pacific
Larus occidentalis - Western Gull - W coast
Larus livens - Yellow-footed Gull - coastal NW Mexico & S California
Larus hyperboreus - Glaucous Gull - Widespread Eurasia, N America N coasts
Larus glaucoides - Iceland Gull - N AO coast
Larus thayeri - Thayer's Gull - N North America - W North America coast
Larus argentatus - European Herring Gull - N Europe - New name
Larus smithsonianus - American Herring Gull - Widespread N America - Split from L. argentatus
Larus vegae - Vega Gull - NE, E Eurasia
Larus cachinnans - Caspian Gull - C Eurasia to NE China - SW, E Asia - Was Yellow-legged Gull
Larus michahellis - Yellow-legged Gull - W Eurasia - Split from L. cachinnans
Larus armenicus - Armenian Gull - SW Eurasia
Larus schistisagus - Slaty-backed Gull - NE, E coast
Larus fuscus - Lesser Black-backed Gull - W Europe to C Northern Siberia; Eurasia, also Greenland and Iceland - N Africa, SW Europe to NW India; also E North America

Gelochelidon nilotica - Gull-billed Tern - Widespread Worldwide

Hydroprogne caspia - Caspian Tern - Widespread Worldwide except South America

Thalasseus maximus - Royal Tern - coasts
Thalasseus bergii - Swift Tern - coasts of E Africa to the S Pacific
Thalasseus elegans - Elegant Tern - W coasts
Thalasseus bengalensis - Lesser Crested Tern - Widespread Africa, Asia, Australasia coasts
Thalasseus bernsteini - Chinese Crested Tern - E coasts - Philippines, Borneo
Thalasseus sandvicensis - Sandwich Tern - northern Europe to Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas - S Europe to N Africa, Persian Gulf, India
Thalasseus acuflavidus - Cabot's Tern - Widespread N America, Latin America coasts from Virginia to French Guiana, Argentina - Pacific coast from Mexico to Ecuador; Atlantic coast from Florida to Uruguay - New World Cabot's Tern including Cayenne Tern. sister to Elegant Tern, not Sandwich Tern

Sternula albifrons - Little Tern - Widespread Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Australasia
Sternula saundersi - Saunders's Tern - Middle East - to India & Malaysia
Sternula antillarum - Least Tern - Widespread N America, Mid America - N South America coast
Sternula superciliaris - Yellow-billed Tern - Widespread South America
Sternula lorata - Peruvian Tern - coasts Ecuador to Chile
Sternula nereis - Fairy Tern - S, SW, W coasts
Sternula balaenarum - Damara Tern - W, SW coasts

Onychoprion aleuticus - Aleutian Tern - N Pacific coasts - S China Sea, Philippines?
Onychoprion lunatus - Spectacled Tern - SW Pacific Ocean
Onychoprion anaethetus - Bridled Tern - Widespread Tropical Ocean
Onychoprion fuscatus - Sooty Tern - Widespread Tropical Ocean

Sterna aurantia - River Tern - E Pakistan through India to S Vietnam
Sterna dougallii - Roseate Tern - Widespread Worldwide coasts
Sterna striata - White-fronted Tern - New Zealand - SE Australia
Sterna sumatrana - Black-naped Tern - coasts - Indian Ocean, S Pacific
Sterna hirundinacea - South American Tern - W, S, SE coasts
Sterna hirundo - Common Tern - Widespread Eurasia, N America - widespread coasts
Sterna repressa - White-cheeked Tern - Middle East, coasts - W India
Sterna paradisaea - Arctic Tern - N Eurasia, N America - Subantarctic Ocean
Sterna vittata - Antarctic Tern - Widespread Southern Ocean
Sterna virgata - Kerguelen Tern - S islands
Sterna forsteri - Forster's Tern - Widespread North America, Middle America
Sterna trudeaui - Snowy-crowned Tern - S South America
Sterna acuticauda - Black-bellied Tern - India through Southeast Asia

Chlidonias albostriatus - Black-fronted Tern - New Zealand
Chlidonias hybrida - Whiskered Tern - Widespread Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Australasia
Chlidonias leucopterus - White-winged Tern - Widespread Eurasia - Africa, Asia, Australasia
Chlidonias niger - Black Tern - Widespread N America, Eurasia - Lat Am coasts

Phaetusa simplex - Large-billed Tern - Widespread South America

Larosterna inca - Inca Tern - W coast