Skimmer

Skimmer, or SCISSORS-BILL (Rhynchops), a genus of long-winged sea-birds belonging to the Gull family (Laridae). Their most distinctive feature is the long, thin bill with the lower half longer than the upper. There are only three known species, occurring respectively in Asia, Africa, and America. Darwin describes the American skimmers, or, as they are also called, Shearwaters (R. niger), as skimming along the surface of the water, generally in small flocks, ploughing up small fish with their projecting lower mandible, and securing them with the upper half of their scissors-like bills. See GULL.