Indian skimmer

Rynchops albicollis

The Indian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis) is a bird found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan. Found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan. It eats fish and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Endangered.

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Scientific name	Rynchops albicollis
Region	Asia
Found in	India, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan

🏡 Where the Indian skimmer lives

Found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish70%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

EndangeredVery few are left in the wild.

💡 It weighs about 209 grams. It mostly eats fish and insects and other small creatures.

Hear the Indian skimmer

Recorded by Raphaël Jordan (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC461586. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Indian skimmer

Where does the Indian skimmer live?

The Indian skimmer lives in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan. Found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan.

What does the Indian skimmer eat?

fish (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Indian skimmer endangered?

Very few are left in the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Endangered.

More birds from Asia

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.