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Sounds
Vocalizations
Development
Hatchlings give a soft, begging call; young > 2 d old give a high-intensity alarm call when handled; other young crouched nearby may respond by running (Gochfeld 1981b).
Vocal Array
Highly vocal at the breeding colony or when flocks are disturbed. Typical call is a single or series of barks (Fig. 3). Barks (1) usually accompany other displays, but can be given while standing on the ground or flying; (2) typically given in aggressive and alarm situations, tending to be synchronized among pairs within a flock or subcolony; and (3) serve as a low intensity alarm, as threat notes, and during interactions with mates.
Daily Pattern Of Vocalizing
Influenced more by tide than diurnal cycle. Barks can be heard throughout night. No apparent sexual differences. Inadequate information suggests individuals have distinctive but relatively invariable barks.
Places Of Vocalizing
Calls given on territory or from nest, mainly during territorial encounters and in flight over colonies. Calls to mate returning from feeding ground.
Sex Differences
Calls similar, but barks of male lower pitched than those of female.
Nonvocal Sounds
Occasionally give bill-clicking noise in an aggressive context; bill click sometimes audible when catching a fish.
Gochfeld, Michael and Joanna Burger. 1994. Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/108
