Black Noddy (Anous minutus)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

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Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Black Noddy (Anous minutus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 12 inches.

Adult: Body coloration dark brown-black. Head almost entirely white. Bill long and narrow. Tail trapezoidal in shape. Feet brown-black.

Similar Species:  The Black Noddy is similar in body form to the Brown Noddy, but is a smaller bird with a much darker coloration and a nearly pure white head.

Breeding Range: The Black Noddy is a tropical bird breeding on oceanic and coastal islands in the tropical parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. This species reaches the United States only in the Dry Tortugas off the southern coast of Florida, but is not known to breed there.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat: The Black Noddy breeds on small oceanic islands in tropical seas. The rest of its life is spend flying over the open ocean.

Food: Small fish and marine invertebrates.

Behavior: The Black Noddy, like the Brown Noddy, is a pelagic species of the open ocean. It flies close to the surface of the water and pounces on its prey. The voice is a sharp kit-kit.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of a single brown-spotted white egg. The egg is laid in a nest of sticks lined with grass or seaweed. The nest is typically placed in a small tree or bush.