Rynchops niger

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Subfamily R

1) Product-moment (Pearson's) correlation coefficient, expressing the degree of association between two (linearly) related variables.
3) availability (the part of a fish population which lives in areas where it is susceptible to fishing during a given fishing season . This part receives recruits from or becomes mingled with the non-available part of the stock at other seasons , or in other years (Ricker, 1975). Fish become available through migration, movement in the water column , or growth)
3) intrinsic growth rate (how much a population can grow between successive time periods when not slowed down by competition . Often estimated with production models and plays an important role in evaluating the sustainability of different harvest levels and the capacity to recover after depletion ).

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of 29 meters (95 feet).[1]

Ecology: List of Habitats :

•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.1     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls )   
  
•     9     Marine Neritic   
  
•     9.2     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs   
  
•     9.3     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel   
  
•     9.4     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy   
  
•     9.5     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy-Mud   
  
•     9.7     Marine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp   
  
•     9.9     Marine Neritic - Seagrass (Submerged)   
  
•     9.10     Marine Neritic - Estuaries   
  
•     12     Marine Intertidal   
  
•     12.2     Marine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars , Spits , Etc   
  
•     12.3     Marine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches   
  
•     12.4     Marine Intertidal - Mud Flats and Salt Flats   
  
•     12.5     Marine Intertidal - Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)   
  
•     13     Marine Coastal/Supratidal   
  
•     13.4     Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes   
  
•     13.5     Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Freshwater Lakes   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

It eats fish, aquatic invertebrates , and crustaceans.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in early May and lasts through mid-August. Skimmers nest on beaches or sandy islands. The nest is a scrape created by both the male and female. The female lays 3-5 (usually 4) eggs that both adults incubate for 21-23 days. The young are semi-precocial and are cared for by both adults for 23-25 days after they hatch . The young have mandibles of equal length when they are young, which helps them pick up insects and food from the adults. The young gain their unequal mandible length when they are old enough to forage on their own.

• Clutch Size: 2-5
• Length of Incubation : 21-23 days
• Days to Fledge : 23-25
• Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Some migrate

Behavior

In winter, most of this bird's time is spent resting on the beaches of the coast or skimming over the water. When a food item is found, the Black Skimmer "nods" its head to close the prey in its bill. When a young Black Skimmer is frightened, it may dig a small shallow depression in the sand , which it hides in, kicking sand up over its back to camouflage itself.

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Rynchops nigra • Rynchops nigra Linnaeus, 1758

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 20-Aug-1999

Similar Species

The Black Skimmer is the only bird species in the United States that has a larger lower mandible than upper mandible.

Members of the genus Rynchops

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species and subspecies in this genus:

R. albicollis (Indian Skimmer) · R. flavirostris (African Skimmer) · R. niger (Black Skimmer) · R. niger cinerascens (Black Skimmer) · R. niger niger (Black Skimmer) · R. nigra (Laysan Hill-Robin)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 102, p. 103, p. 141, p. 145, p. 148, p. 158, p. 195, p. 199, p. 218, p. 219, p. 237, p. 238, p. 24, p. 246, p. 247, p. 248, p. 249, p. 25, p. 255, p. 276, p. 284, p. 285, p. 287, p. 290, p. 292, p. 298, p. 393, p. 394, p. 395, p. 404, p. 47, p. 553, p. 57, p. 684, p. 71, p. 75, p. 79, p. 81.
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. url p. 11.
• A survey of natural areas in Brunswick County, North Carolina: for The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Coastal Natural Area Inventory Project / Raleigh: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1982?] url .
• An ecological characterization of Coastal Maine (north and east of Cape Elizabeth) / Stewart I. Fefer and Patricia S. Schettig: principal investigators. Newton Corner, Mass.: Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region, 1980. url p. 7.
• Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American West Coast: a manual for their census and identification / by David G. Ainley. .. [et al.] Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory; with drawings by Helen C. Strong; performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service [Washington, D.C.]: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1980] url p. 147.
• Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 531.
• Birds in Kansas / Max C. Thompson & Charles Ely. 1 Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History: c1989- url p. 308, p. 402, p. xiii.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) url p. 222.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1971- url p. 96.
• Catalog of California seabird colonies / by Arthur L. Sowls. .. [et al.]. Washington, D.C.: Coastal Ecosystems Project, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior: 1980. url p. 1.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 239, p. 799, p. 822.
• Coastal waterbird colonies: Cape Elizabeth, Maine to Virginia / by R. Michael Erwin; performed for Coastal Ecosystems Project, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Washington, D.C.: Fish and Wildlife Service, 1979. url p. 118, p. 143.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 575, p. 745, p. 777.
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. url , p. 240, p. 73.
• IUCN Directory of Neotropical Protected Areas IUCN url p. 406.
• Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Washington [etc., Washington Academy of Sciences] url p. 356, p. 673, p. 684.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 13 1984 San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931-1989. url p. 273.
• Occasional papers of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas. 1991 Lawrence, Kan.: The University, 1971-1994. url p. 8.
• Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems / [edited by], Edward T. LaRoe. .. [et al.]. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service, 1995. url p. 519, p. 521.
• Pesticides monitoring journal. [Washington, D.C.: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1967-1981. url p. 59.
• Polychlorinated biphenyl hazards to fish, wildlife, and invertebrates: a synoptic review / by Ronald Eisler (Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Laurel, MD: The Service, 1986. url p. 21.
• Shinnecock Inlet, New York, site investigation. by Gregory L. Williams, Andrew Morang, Linda Lillycrop; prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Vicksburg, Miss.: U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, 1998. url p. 6.
• Smithsonian year: annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ended Sept. 30. .. 1982 City of Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1980-2001. url p. 464.
• Special scientific report--wildlife / U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C.: The Service, 1949- url p. 1.
• Syllogeus. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1972-1995. url p. 17.
• The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: a national estuarine research reserve / by Joy B. Zedler, Christopher S. Nordby and Barbara E. Kus. [Washington, D.C.: NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division], 1992. url p. 58, p. 68.

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• BirdLife International 2009. Rynchops niger. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 09, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 10 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Peterson, Alan P. Zoological Nomenclature Resource. Accessed June 19, 2009.
• Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 2, 2007.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 09, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bay of Fundy Species List (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SEAMAP - marine mammals, birds and turtles
• New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• Senckenberg: Collection Aves (spirit preserved)
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8311
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176963
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 2482044
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 554447
• IUCN ID: 240276
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNNM14010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 217

Footnotes

1. Standard Deviation = 45.380 based on 133,695 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.