The
black skimmer (
Rynchops niger) is a tern-like bird in the gull family
Laridae, breeding in North and South America.
Skimmers have the lower
mandible (jawbone) and
bill longer than the upper ones, which allows them to fly low over the water surface, skimming the water for small fish, insects, crustaceans and molluscs. This black skimmer was photographed fishing while in flight over the
Rio Negro in the
Pantanal, an area of tropical wetland in southwestern Brazil.
Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp