[1] African skimmers have long wings, with a black back, hindneck, and crown.

They live at large tropical rivers with sandbanks for nesting and roosting, lake shores, and coastal lagoons.

The African skimmer is generally uncommon and the total populations is estimated at 15,000–25,000 individuals.

The following fish have been recorded as prey for African skimmers: Micralestes, Tilapia, Barbus, Marcusenius , Hepsetus, Aplocheilichthys and Petrocephalus.

[1] Sometimes African skimmer colonies are mixed with those of other sand bank nesting birds such as collared pratincole, pied avocet and white-fronted plover.