The Black Skimmer which is a medium-sized ternlike seabird with very long wings and an outsized long bill. The lower mandible is much longer than the upper which makes it look super weird on the size of the bird! It's eyes are kind of hidden in the black coloring on the top part of it's face/head. When it stretches out it's neck it just has the oddest body shape.
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What's super cool about them is that their name really matches how fly since Skimmers feed by opening the bill and dropping the long, narrow lower mandible into the water, skimming along until they feel a fish. Then they relax the neck, quickly closing their jaws and whipping the fish out of the water. Check out this video we took watching them as they were busy one evening in the bay at PSI.
Another super interesting bird I had fun watching is the Black-necked Stilt which is a tall but small-bodied shorebird with very long pink legs, a long neck, small head, and thin, straight bill. They have real pretty eyes and.........THOSE LEGS!
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I think the Neotropic Cormorant looks like something from prehistoric times. It's incredible aqua colored eyes are soooo cool. The ones I watched were on land so I didn't get to see them in the water diving for fish.
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