Bird of the Week – African skimmer
The Zulu name is isikhetho and in Afrikaans, waterpioneer.
THE African skimmer is a common inter-Africa migrant from April to December, when water levels are low.
It is a rare vagrant to South Africa but breedings have been recorded in north-eastern KZN.
They like larger rivers, lakes, pans and coastal lagoons where they feed on small fish, mostly two to five centimetres long. The lower jaw, which is longer than the upper, is just dipped below the water’s surface, cutting a narrow wake. When food is swept up, they snap the bill closed. Foraging takes place both day and night, usually when the water is calm.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdSiJ6SjR4m/?tagged=africanskimmer
Skimmers are gregarious, being found in flocks up to 20 or more birds. Usually wary and unapproachable, they may be approached closely by boat. Flocks rest on sandbanks, facing into the wind.
The flight is fast with leisurely wing-beats and the call is a sharp ‘kik – kik – kik’.
LISTEN:
Breeding takes place from July to October and the nest is a deep, unlined scrape on a sandbar in the river. One to four buffy-colour eggs blotched with purple are laid. Incubation is 21 days, with the eggs wet by belly-soaking at each nest relief. The fledgings are between five to six weeks, the chick being carried by its parent in the bill if disturbed.
The Zulu name is isikhetho and in Afrikaans, waterpioneer.
