Indian Skimmer

The Indian Skimmer is a large, distinctive skimmer of South Asian rivers, once widespread but now one of the rarer members of its family due to extensive habitat loss along the rivers it depends on.

Appearance

Adults have blackish-brown upperparts, white underparts, a white collar around the hindneck, and a stout, deep bill that is orange-yellow at the base with a yellow tip, the lower mandible notably longer than the upper. The legs are orange-red.

Key field marks

• Heavy, deep-based bill, more robust than African or Black Skimmer
• White collar around the nape separating the dark cap from the back
• Blackish-brown upperparts contrasting with white underparts
• Restricted to large rivers and lakes, rarely seen on the open coast

Similar species

Black Skimmer and African Skimmer do not overlap in range with the Indian Skimmer, so confusion is unlikely; within its Asian range, no other bird shares the unique elongated-lower-mandible bill shape.

Habitat and range

Indian Skimmers inhabit large, slow-flowing lowland rivers, oxbow lakes, and estuaries across the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, relying on wide sandbars and sandbanks exposed during low water for roosting and nesting.

Migration

The species makes local and seasonal movements linked to river water levels, dispersing more widely, including to coastal areas, outside the breeding season. Its range and population have contracted sharply due to river damming, sand mining, and disturbance of nesting sandbars.

Behavior

Indian Skimmers forage by flying low over calm river and lake surfaces, slicing the water with the elongated lower mandible to catch small fish, typically feeding during cooler parts of the day.

Voice

Calls are sharp, tern-like yelping or barking notes, given in flight and especially in alarm near nesting colonies.

Nesting and breeding

They nest colonially on exposed river sandbars during the dry season, laying eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand. Because so few large, undisturbed sandbars remain, nesting colonies are increasingly concentrated and vulnerable to flooding, predation, and human disturbance.