Black noddies are medium-sized terns with uniformly dark, sooty plumage and a white cap, the reverse of the common tern color pattern. The white cap blends gradually into the grey of the body. They measure 35 to 40 cm in length, 65 to 72 cm in wingspan, and weigh from 85 to 140 grams. They have small, white markings on the lower and upper rims of their eyelids. The bill is black and the legs and feet are reddish-brown to orange. The mouth lining and tongue is orange-yellow in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Atlantic populations, yellow in Caribbean Islands, and the mouth lining is pink and the tongue yellow in Australia. The tail is 105 to 130 mm and is wedge-shaped with a central notch. Males and females are similar, juveniles are also similar, but are slightly more pale in color and the white cap is sharply differentiated from the gray body plumage
Not Threatened.
Black noddies are medium-sized terns with uniformly dark, sooty plumage and a white cap, the reverse of the common tern color pattern. The white cap blends gradually into the grey of the body. They measure 35 to 40 cm in length, 65 to 72 cm in wingspan, and weigh from 85 to 140 grams. They have small, white markings on the lower and upper rims of their eyelids. The bill is black and the legs and feet are reddish-brown to orange. The mouth lining and tongue is orange-yellow in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Atlantic populations, yellow in Caribbean Islands, and the mouth lining is pink and the tongue yellow in Australia. The tail is 105 to 130 mm and is wedge-shaped with a central notch. Males and females are similar, juveniles are also similar, but are slightly more pale in color and the white cap is sharply differentiated from the gray body plumage
They measure 35 to 40 cm in length, 65 to 72 cm in wingspan, and weigh from 85 to 140 grams
Taxonomy:
- Anous minutus Boie, 1844, Raine Island, Australia. Forms superspecies with A. tenuirostris, with which sometimes considered conspecific. Seven subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * worcesteri McGregor, 1911 - Cavilli I and Tubbataha Reef (Sulu Sea). * minutus Boie, 1844 - NE Australia and New Guinea to Tuamotu Is. * marcusi (Bryan, 1903) - Marcus I and Wake I through Micronesia to Caroline Is. * melanogenys G. R. Gray, 1846 - Hawaiian Is. * diamesus (Heller & Snodgrass, 1901) - EC Pacific at Cocos I and Clipperton Is. * americanus (Mathews, 1912) - Central America and Venezuelan islands; recently found and possibly nesting off Yucatán, Mexico, and in Lesser Antilles. * atlanticus (Mathews, 1912) - Atlantic islands (St Paul, Fernando de Noronha, Ascension, St Helena, formerly Inaccessible) N & E to Gulf of Guinea.
Black noddies are found on tropical and subtropical oceanic islands, from sandy atolls to rocky islands. Black noddies are the only marine terns (Sterninae) that build large nests and one of the only tree or shrub-nesting tern species. They nest and roost mainly in vegetation, although nests on coastal cliffs and in caves are common in the Hawaiian Islands, Clipperton Island, and in islands in their Atlantic range. A wide variety of vegetation types are used for nesting and roosting. Nests are usually constructed in forests dominated by Pisonia grandis trees, ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia), mangroves (Avicennia and Rhizophora), and coastal shrubs (naupaka Scaevola sericea, tree heliotrope Tournefortia argentea). Black noddies forage in nearshore, warm-water areas during breeding and non-breeding seasons. During long distance movements or migrations they fly over large expanses of open water. Closely related brown noddies (Anous stolidus) are often found one the same islands in similar habitats, but nest mainly on the ground.
Black noddies eat a wide variety of prey and are opportunistic predators. Their diet is mainly made up of small fish, squid, and crustaceans. The composition of the diet varies substantially with the region and seasonal abundance of prey. Prey are typically small, averaging 34 mm in length, fish prey averaged 19 to 64 mm in length. Analysis of regurgitated food for young suggest that fish are the dominant prey. Black noddies take prey from the ocean surface in nearshore areas, including lagoons, bays, and brackish coastal ponds. Most individuals are observed foraging within 10 km of breeding or roosting islands. Unlike most terns, black noddies do not dive for their prey. Instead they skim or dip at the surface or sometimes briefly land on the water to grab prey.
Breeding interval Black noddies can breed from every 5 months to once yearly. A maximum of 3 clutches per year has been estimated, although 1 successful clutch per year is typical. Breeding season in black noddies varies regionally and may depend on the peak seasonal availability of prey. Some populations breed throughout the year, others have a strongly seasonal pattern of breeding. Eggs per season 1 (high); avg. 1 Time to hatching 34 days (average)