Black Noddy
Anous minutus
A medium-sized black tern with a tail that appears square or slightly forked. Smaller and darker than Brown Noddy with a shorter tail, thinner bill, and more contrasting white cap. Uniformly black back, wings and tail, and dark legs, except on the main Hawaiian islands where tail and rump are grayish and feet and legs are bright orange. Nests on coastal cliffs, in sea caves, and in trees. More often seen in groups than Brown Noddy. Often seen from shore.
Identification
The black noddy has a length of 35–37 cm (14–15 in), a wingspan of 66–72 cm (26–28 in) and a weight of 98–144 g (3.5–5.1 oz). It has dark plumage and a pale crown. There is a small white crescent under each eye and a white spot above. It has long tapering wings and a truncated tail. The sharply pointed bill is black. The feet are fully webbed and are black in most subspecies but orange in melanogenys.
Taxonomy
The black noddy was first formally described by German naturalist and lawyer Friedrich Boie in 1844 under its current binomial name. The genus name Anous is ancient Greek for "stupid" or "foolish". The specific name minutus is the Latin for "small".<p>There are seven subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Anous minutus
- Authority
- Boie, F, 1844
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Anous
Range and habitat
The black noddy has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas, with colonies widespread in the Pacific Ocean and more scattered across the Caribbean, central Atlantic and in the northeast Indian Ocean. At sea it is usually seen close to its breeding colonies within 80 km of shore. Birds return to their colonies, or to other islands, to roost at night.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
These birds may have become known as "noddies" because of the behaviour of both sexes as they constantly dip their heads during their breeding display. They are very tolerant of humans even to the extent that they can be picked up off the nest. They feed on fish and squid which they gather by flying low over the surface of the sea and picking them up. They may associate with other seabirds in areas where predatory fish are driving small fish to the surface.<p>The nests of these birds consist of a level platform, often created in the branches of trees by a series of dried leaves covered with bird droppings. One egg is laid each season, and nests are re-used in subsequent years. The trees used for this purpose are various but the Pisonia is most often used, and in large trees, there are often several nests. The guano produced by these birds adds large quantities of nutrients to the soil which is of great importance to the plant communities on coral islands.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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