CreatureData

Black skimmer

Rynchops niger Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernbirds

The black skimmer (Rynchops niger) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 254 g to 349 g and live up to 20 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black skimmer (Rynchops niger)
Photo: Terry Foote ( talk ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black skimmer

Weight
254 g – 349 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
37 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
20 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
20.3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
riverinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
23 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.75src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2 years – 2.49 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the black skimmer?

BLACK SKIMMER · WINGSPAN 37 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 37 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the black skimmer is about 22% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the black skimmer live?

Not recorded

What is the black skimmer?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black skimmer (Rynchops niger) is a tern-like seabird, one of three similar bird species in the skimmer genus Rynchops in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer waters of the Caribbean and the tropical and subtropical Pacific and Atlantic coasts, but South American populations make only shorter movements in response to annual floods which extend their feeding areas in the river shallows.

From the Wikipedia article “Black skimmer” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_skimmer&oldid=1381788162), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black skimmer endangered?

The black skimmer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black skimmer classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusRynchops
  7. SpeciesRynchops niger Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Rhynchops niger, Rhynchops niger niger, Rynchops fulva, Rynchops nigra

Other names and names in other languages (54)
  • American skimmerEnglish
  • Black shearwaterEnglish
  • SeadogEnglish
  • Amerikaanse WaterploeërAfrikaans
  • أبو مقص الأسودArabic
  • picutisoria americanuAsturian
  • Черен водорезBulgarian
  • Bec de tisora negreCatalan
  • bec de tisora americàCatalan
  • zoboun americkýCzech
  • sgimiwr duWelsh
  • Amerikansk SaksnæbDanish
  • AmerikascherenschnabelGerman
  • Amerikanischer ScherenschnabelGerman
  • Schwarzmantel-ScherenschnabelGerman
  • SchwarzmantelscherenschnabelGerman
  • Nigra tondilbekuloEsperanto
  • amerika tondilbekuloEsperanto
  • RayadorSpanish
  • Pico de TijeraSpanish
  • Rayador americanoSpanish
  • Rayador NegroSpanish
  • ameerika käärnokkEstonian
  • amerikansaksinokkaFinnish
  • Bec-en-ciseaux noirFrench
  • Sciméar MeiriceánachIrish
  • Skimmeyder AmericaanaghManx
  • Pa'â guasuGuarani
  • Bèk sizoHaitian Creole
  • američki vodosijekCroatian
  • karibi ollóscsőrűHungarian
  • becco a cesoia americanoItalian
  • Becco a cesoie americanoItalian
  • Becco a forbice americanoItalian
  • クロハサミアジサシJapanese
  • juodasis žirkliasnapisLithuanian
  • Amerikas smēlējzīriņšLatvian
  • Amerikaanse schaarbekDutch
  • amerikasaksenebbNorwegian
  • Bok'i SkèrPapiamento
  • Pico di SkèrPapiamento
  • brzytwodziób amerykańskiPolish
  • talha-marPortuguese
  • talha-mar-americanoPortuguese
  • Чёрный водорезRussian
  • zobáľ čiernochrbtýSlovak
  • ameriški škarjekljunSlovenian
  • Crni vodosekSerbian
  • amerikansk saxnäbbSwedish
  • นกกรีดน้ำอเมริกันThai
  • Kara MakasgagaTurkish
  • водоріз американськийUkrainian
  • 黑剪嘴鷗Chinese
  • 黑剪嘴鸥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black skimmer

Other species in the same genus Rynchops.

CompareBlack skimmer vs African skimmerBlack skimmer vs Indian skimmer

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black skimmer?

An adult black skimmer weighs 254 g – 349 g and has a wingspan of 37 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black skimmer endangered?

The black skimmer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the black skimmer live?

The black skimmer has a recorded lifespan of 20 years.

What kind of animal is the black skimmer?

The black skimmer (Rynchops niger) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black skimmer (Rynchops niger). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-skimmer

MLA

“Black skimmer (Rynchops niger).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-skimmer.

BibTeX
@misc{black_skimmer_2026,
  title = {Black skimmer (Rynchops niger)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-skimmer},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}