Black Skimmers are 40-43 cm long and have a distinctive appearance. They are black on their upperparts and white on the forehead, collar, and underside. They have a long, thick bill that is deep orange with a yellow tip and a longer lower mandible. In flight, they display a white trailing edge on their wings and a short, forked tail with blackish central feathers. Non-breeding individuals are duller and browner on top. Juvenile Black Skimmers have a dusky orange bill with a blackish tip, a paler brownish-grey crown and nape with dark mottling, and brownish-grey mantle feathers with whitish or pale buff fringes on the scapulars and wing-coverts. Their call is a nasal “kap” or “kip” sound, especially when flying or disturbed.