AFRICAN SKIMMER; BIRDS OF UGANDA – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

african-skimmer-uganda-birding-safaris-birding-safaris-ugandaScientifically referred to as Rynchops Flavirostris, the African skimmer is part of the skimmer family and noted to dwell in areas near close to water bodies including lakes, channels, Rivers and lagoons in the South of Sahara where they are explored on Africa birding safaris including birding safaris to Uganda.
African Skimmers are marked with black back, crown, hind neck and long wings while the forehead along with the remaining part of the body is white featuring long bright orange beak that is marked with a yellow tip.  The African skimmers have short white tail while the legs are shinning red as viewed during Uganda birding safaris and tours.  They have an average size of around 38cm in length. Their bill is considerably distinct with the lower mandible more extended than the upper mandible while the sideways are very flattened.
The African Skimmers are noted to fly in lines over the tranquil waters and would dip their lower mandible to extract food. The bird snaps its mouth shut after touching the fish. Their feeding time is at dusk and at dawn and feature good vision. The range of fish species consumed by African Skimmers include; Barbus, Tilapia, Hepsetus, Petrocephalus, Micralestes and Marcusenius.
Regarding reproduction, the African skimmers nest in colonies on big sandbanks and these colonies are comprised of fifty (50) pairs with each pair laying 2 – 3 eggs in a sand scrape. At times, the colonies of African Skimmers are intermixed of other birds that nest in the sand banks including; white-fronted plover, pied avocet and collared pratincole.
African Skimmers are listed as near threatened under the IUCN red list with global population 15,000 – 25,000 individuals. They are migrant species but are noted to be intra-African migrants moving to South Africa when the river water volume reduces at the onset of dry season in the months of April through June and then return to the northwards during the rainy season when the water volumes begin to rise in the months of November through to February.
In Uganda, the African skimmers can be explored along the Kazinga Channel while on a safari in Uganda.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHERE CAN YOU FIND & SEE GORILLAS IN UGANDA AFRICA?

Image
Uganda has only two national parks where one can see gorillas i.e Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and this is where g orilla trekking in Uganda is done to search and find  the rear endangered Mountain Gorillas . With about 1063 mountain gorillas that still exist on earth today, Uganda is home to more than half of all these endangered Great Apes making it one of the only 3 countries in the world where mountain gorillas live and Uganda gorilla tours are only done in there two national parks. Uganda has 20 gorilla families that have been habituated and already set for tourism purposes , 19 of which are tracked/found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and only 1 is found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one  of the places where you can see Gorillas in Uganda Africa. The appropriately named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (also called “The Place of Darkness”) is the world’s premier ...
Read more

Mountain Gorilla Behavior,Diet,Threats and Predators

http://www.primeugandasafaris.com/gorilla-safaris/5-days-uganda-gorilla-safari.html Behavior  Although strong and powerful, gorillas are generally gentle,shy ,retiring rather than ferocious and treacherous . They live in groups of 2-40 individuals, averaging about 11. Groups are led by a dominant male, the Silverback, named for the silvery gray hairs that grow when the male matures. The Silverback serves as the chief leader and protector of the group, to whom all group members defer. He decides when and where to go, rest and sleep, arbitrates disputes among his family members and protects them from rival Silverbacks or human predators. Gorillas usually seeks no trouble but will valiantly defend its family group if threatened. An adult male called a silverback named for the silvery gray hairs on its back normally leads each group, serving as its chief protector and defender. Gorillas ...
Read more