skimmer

/skim"euhr/, n.

1. a person or thing that skims.

2. a shallow utensil, usually perforated, used in skimming liquids.

3. any of several gull-like birds of the family Rynchopidae, that skim the water with the elongated lower mandible immersed while in search of food.

4. a stiff, wide-brimmed hat with a shallow flat crown, usually made of straw.

5. a woman's A-line dress with side darts that shape it slightly to the body.

[1350-1400; SKIM + -ER¹; r. ME skemour, skymour, var. of schumour < MF (e)scumoir ladle for skimming; see SCUM]

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Any of three species (family Rynchopidae) of waterbirds having a red bladelike bill, with the lower mandible longer than the upper.

Skimmers live chiefly in estuaries and along wide rivers in warm regions. At twilight, they skim calm, shallow water with the open bill tip submerged; when a fish or crustacean is hit, the upper mandible snaps down. Skimmers are dark above with white underparts, face, and forehead, red legs, and black wings. The American black skimmer (Rynchops nigra) grows to 20 in. (50 cm) long.

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▪ bird

 any of three species of water birds that constitute the family Rynchopidae in the order Charadriiformes. The skimmer is distinguished by a unique bladelike bill, the lower mandible of which is one-third longer than the upper mandible.

      By day the skimmer rests onshore, and at twilight the bird feeds, skimming calm, shallow water with the bill tip submerged; when a fish or crustacean is encountered, the upper mandible snaps down. Skimmers nest in small colonies, laying three to five eggs. The young are fed by regurgitation until the mandibles assume their adult form.

 Skimmers are found chiefly in estuaries and along wide rivers in warm regions. The three species are dark above and white below, with white face and forehead. The short legs and the bill are red, and the long narrow wings are black. The largest skimmer is the black skimmer (Rynchops nigra; see photograph—>) of America, which grows to 50 cm (20 inches) long. The African skimmer (R. flavirostris) and the Indian skimmer (R. albicollis) are smaller.

 

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