Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusRynchops (Skimmers)
- SpeciesRynchops niger (Black Skimmer)
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. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Manuel Antonio National Park
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Bridled Tern
Onychoprion anaethetus
Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
White Tern
Gygis alba
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Sabine's Gull
Xema sabini
Elegant Tern
Thalasseus elegans
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Black Skimmer at Manuel Antonio National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there