• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	C1+2a(ii)
2012	Near Threatened	C1+2a(ii)
2008	Near Threatened	C1; C2a(ii)
2006	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	164 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	17,200,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	17,900,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	10000-17000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2002
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	6.3 years	-	-	-

Population justification: There are 7,000-13,000 individuals in West and Central Africa and 8,000-12,000 in East Africa and South Africa (T. Dodman in litt. 2002 via Wetlands International 2021), giving a total of 15,000-25,000 individuals, roughly equivalent to 10,000-17,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to wetland habitat degradation, over-exploitation and human disturbance.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native		yes		yes
Benin	extant	native			yes	yes
Botswana	extant	native	yes
Burkina Faso	extant	native			yes
Burundi	extant	native	yes			yes
Cameroon	extant	native			yes	yes
Central African Republic	extant	native				yes
Chad	extant	native	yes			yes
Congo	extant	native			yes	yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native			yes	yes
Côte d'Ivoire	extant	native			yes	yes
Egypt	extant	native			yes
Equatorial Guinea	extant	native				yes
Eritrea	extant	vagrant			yes
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes			yes
Gabon	extant	native			yes	yes
Gambia	extant	native			yes
Ghana	extant	native			yes	yes
Guinea	extant	native			yes	yes
Israel	extant	vagrant
Kenya	extant	native	yes			yes
Liberia	extant	native			yes	yes
Malawi	extant	native		yes		yes
Mali	extant	native	yes
Mauritania	extant	native			yes
Mozambique	extant	native			yes	yes
Namibia	extant	native	yes
Niger	extant	native	yes
Nigeria	extant	native	yes			yes
Rwanda	extant	native			yes	yes
Senegal	extant	native	yes			yes
Sierra Leone	extant	native	yes			yes
Somalia	extant	vagrant			yes
South Africa	extinct	vagrant			yes
South Sudan	extant	native				yes
Sudan	extant	native	yes			yes
Tanzania	extant	native			yes	yes
Togo	extant	vagrant			yes	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes			yes
Yemen	extant	vagrant			yes
Zambia	extant	native		yes		yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Botswana	Okavango Delta
Burundi	Rusizi National Park
Congo	Lake Télé Community Reserve
Ethiopia	Lake Turkana and Omo delta
Gabon	Akanda
Gabon	Ogooué delta and Mandji island
Malawi	Lake Chilwa and flood-plain
Tanzania	Katavi National Park
Tanzania	Kilombero Valley
Tanzania	Lake Rukwa
Tanzania	Nyumba ya Mungu reservoir
Uganda	Murchison Falls National Park
Uganda	Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake George
Zambia	Barotse Floodplains
Zambia	Kafue Flats
Zambia	Simungoma
Zambia	South Luangwa National Park
Zambia	Sumbu National Park and Tondwa Game Management Area
Zimbabwe	Middle Zambezi Valley

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 1800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Bos taurus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Competition
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Dams (size unknown)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Soil erosion, sedimentation	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Shipping lanes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/african-skimmer-rynchops-flavirostris on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.