Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
Dark-bodied tern of tropical offshore waters, rarely seen from mainland. Breeds in colonies on rocky and sandy offshore islets. Sometimes found with offshore feeding flocks of boobies and other terns. Feeds by picking from the surface, not plunge-diving like most terns. Adult solidly dark brown with white cap. White limited to the forehead on immature.
Identification
The brown noddy is 38–45 cm (15–18 in) in length with a wingspan of 75–86 cm (30–34 in). The plumage is a dark chocolate-brown with a pale-grey or white crown and forehead. It has a narrow incomplete white eye-ring. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, and the feet and legs are dark.
Taxonomy
The first formal description of the brown noddy was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Sterna stolida. The genus Anous was introduced by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens in 1826. The genus name Anous is Ancient Greek for "stupid" or "foolish". The specific name stolidus is Latin and also means "stupid" or "foolish".<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Anous stolidus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Anous
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The brown noddy is a colonial bird, usually nesting on cliffs, trees, or bushes. It occasionally lays its eggs on the bare ground. The nest itself is usually a platform nest, made of sticks and twigs.<p>In their nuptial displays, the female and male bow and nod to each other. Courtship feeding and flights accompany this, in addition to the transfer of a small, freshly caught fish from the male to the female.<p>This bird lays a clutch of one pink cream egg with lilac and chestnut maculation. The egg usually measures around 52 by 35 millimetres (2.0 by 1.4 in). This egg is incubated by both sexes for 33 to 36 days, with each parent incubating for one or two days while their mate is feeding at sea. After the chick hatches, it grows quickly; usually reaching the weight of the parents in three weeks. When it fledges, about six to seven weeks after hatching, it can sometimes weigh more than the parents, although this weight is lost quickly once it starts to fly. At this point, the fledgling is starting to rely on its parents less and less as it learns how to provide for itself.<p>The brown noddy forages by swooping over the water and dipping down to catch small squid, other molluscs, aquatic insects and fish (such as sardines, anchovies, etc.). It will also feed on fruit, mostly the screw pine fruit.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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