Subspecies in India
This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).
Photo Gallery and Species Biology
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This species is rare. It inhabits inland wetlands and marshlands of coasts. It is migratory, breeding in a large flock in India (Himachal Pradesh and Odisha) and Pakistan. Its wintering areas are in Myanmar, Cambodia and western India (Gujarat and Rajasthan) (BirdLife International 2017).
Conservation Status:
This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).
According to the IUCN Red List Assessment, the population of this species is declining, with the current population estimate of 4,000-6,700 individuals. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat disturbance due to human encroachments causing pollution (BirdLife International 2017).
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |||||||||||||
| Andhra Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Assam | |||||||||||||
| Bihar | |||||||||||||
| Chandigarh | |||||||||||||
| Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | |||||||||||||
| Daman & Diu | |||||||||||||
| Delhi | |||||||||||||
| Goa | |||||||||||||
| Gujarat | |||||||||||||
| Haryana | |||||||||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||||||||||||
| Jharkhand | |||||||||||||
| Karnataka | |||||||||||||
| Kerala | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Maharashtra | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Manipur | |||||||||||||
| Meghalaya | |||||||||||||
| Mizoram | |||||||||||||
| Nagaland | |||||||||||||
| Odisha | |||||||||||||
| Paschimbanga | |||||||||||||
| Pondicherry | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
| Rajasthan | |||||||||||||
| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||||||
| West Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Total | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
BirdLife International 2017. Rynchops albicollis (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22694268A110600990. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22694268A110600990.en. Accessed on 06 February 2020.
Page citation
Anonymous 2024. Rynchops albicollis Swainson, 1838 – Indian Skimmer. In Satose, V., A. Bayani, V. Ramachandran, P. Roy, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 2.17. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.birdsofindia.org/rynchops-albicollis, accessed 2024/10/06.