OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Common Noddy (Anous stolidus)





Common Noddy | Anous stolidus photo
Common Noddy

Image by Forest & Kim Starr - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Common Noddy | Anous stolidus photo
Brown Noddy Anous stolidus nesting, taken on Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals

Image by Duncan Wright, USFWS - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)

Common Noddy | Anous stolidus photo
Common Noddy nesting on Île aux Cocos (Rodrigues island)

Image by B.navez - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Common Noddy | Anous stolidus photo
noddy on Bird Island, Seychelles.

Image by WilliamBKH - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)







COMMON NODDY FACTS

Description
The Common Noddy is similar to the White-capped Noddy but is larger and not as dark. The underside of the wing is pale. It is a dark brown seabird with white cap. The bill and feet are dark coloured. Young birds have less white on top of the head. Often forms large colonies of more than 100,000 birds.

Other Names
Brown Noddy

Size
37cm - 40cm

Habitat
tropical and sub-tropical seas, off shore islands

Food
They feed on fish, squid, molluscs, insects

Breeding
Nest is large colonies. The nest is a saucer made of seaweed, twigs and other plant material on the ground or in a low bush. Lays a single creamy white lightly spotted egg.

Range
The common Noddy is found around the subtropical coast of Australia from Western Australia round the northern Territory, Queensland to New South Wales. It is found around the world in tropical coastal areas.

distribution map showing range of Anous stolidus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Charadriiformes
Family:Laridae
Genus:Anous
Species:stolidus
Common Name:Common Noddy

Relatives in same Genus
  White-capped Noddy (A. minutus)
  Lesser Noddy (A. tenuirostris)