Mystery Bird: African Skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris

Hmm...they could be mistaken for seagulls if their beaks weren't so frightfully orange. I'm not going to identify them, but I'm guessing they are a coastal bird!

Ivy

African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris, "They have very long wings. The back, hindneck, and crown are black. The forehead and rest of the body is white, with a bright, long, orange beak that ends with a yellow tip. Their short forked tail is white, and their legs are bright red" Says Wikipedia

I don't have any African references, but I have a feeling that figuring the location is going to have something to do with the molt pattern. These birds are showing pale gray in the crown, and molting their primaries. Since all three of them are showing roughly the same, that suggests this is truly a seasonal situation. Molt of primaries typically occurs once a year, and typically after the breeding season. In migratory birds, it can happen before, after, or occasionally during migration -- I don't know specifically for African Skimmers. But this does suggest that these birds breed in November/December, which may give a clue as to the location.

The light "collars" on their hind-necks show these birds are in non-breeding plumage. I think that African Skimmers range pretty widely during the off-breeding season, so I can't think of a good way to guess at the location. Urban's "Birds of Africa" leaves the impression that egg-laying dates tend to range from March through June in the north and August through October in the south.

Location? Possibly Earth, but the bright blue background is a giveaway: NASA's secret film studio, where they faked the lunar landings, and are hiding Elvis and the UFOnauts.