Skimmer Tern (English: Skimmer Tern)

Japanese: ハサミアジサシ(挟鰺刺) - ハサミアジサシ（英語表記）skimmer

A general term for birds in the family Lynchopidae of the order Charadriiformes. Three species are known worldwide. With long, slender bodies and wings, they look very similar to terns (family Laridae). They have short legs. The upper sides of the wings and back are blackish, while the undersides are white. A notable feature of birds in this family is the shape of their beak, with the lower beak being much longer than the upper beak. They insert this long lower beak into the water surface and fly low over the surface in that position, cutting through the water with their beak. When a small fish or shrimp gets caught in the lower beak, they grab it in their mouth.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

チドリ目ハサミアジサシ科Rynchopidaeの鳥の総称。世界に3種が知られている。細長い体と細長い翼をもち，外観はアジサシ類(カモメ科)によく似ている。脚は短い。翼の上面や背は黒っぽく，下面は白い。この科の鳥の著しい特徴はくちばしの形態で，上くちばしに対して，下くちばしがずっと長い。この長い下くちばしを水面にさし入れ，そのままの姿勢で水面上を低く飛びくちばしで水を切るようにする。小魚やエビがこの下くちばしにかかるとくわえてとらえる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Earwig - Earwig

>>: Hasami [town] - scissors