The black noddy (Anous minutus), also known as white-capped noddy, is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized seabird with black plumage and a white cap that closely resembles the lesser noddy with which it was at one time considered conspecific. The black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores.

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".

There are seven subspecies:

  • A. m. worcesteri (McGregor, 1911) – Cavilli Island and Tubbataha Reef (Sulu Sea)
  • A. m. minutus Boie, 1844 – northeast Australia and New Guinea to Tuamotu Archipelago
  • A. m. marcusi (Bryan, 1903) – Marcus and Wake Islands through Micronesia to the Caroline Islands
  • A. m. melanogenys Gray, 1846 – Hawaiian Islands to the Kermadec Islands
  • A. m. diamesus (Heller and Snodgrass, 1901) – Clipperton Island (off western Mexico) and Cocos Island (off western Costa Rica)
  • A. m. americanus (Mathews, 1912) – islands in the Caribbean Sea
  • A. m. atlanticus (Mathews, 1912) – tropical islands in the Atlantic

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Black noddy (Anous minutus marcusi) in flight Rock Islands.jpg|A. m. marcusi, Rock Islands, Palau

Black noddies (Anous minutus marcusi) Rock Islands.jpg|A. m. marcusi, Rock Islands, Palau

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Description

The black noddy has a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of . 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.

Black noddies (Anous minutus marcusi) Rock Islands.jpg

Behaviour

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. 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.

Distribution

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&nbsp;km of shore. Birds return to their colonies, or to other islands, to roost at night.

thumb|300px|Lady Elliot Island, Qld, Australia

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File:Anous minutus by Gregg Yan 01.jpg|Nesting in Tubbataha Reef National Park, Philippines

File:Anous minutus.JPG|Calling at colony.

File:Anous minutus -nesting -Heron Island-8.jpg|Nesting on Heron Island, Australia

File:Black noddy and chick.jpg|Black noddy with chick

File:Black Noddy Head.jpg|Black noddy head

File:Common Noddy head.JPG|Common noddy head - note stouter beak, greyer cap

File:Black Noddy Tern.JPG|Black noddy

File:Black Noddy in flight at North Curl Curl, 2025.jpg|Black noddy in flight

Anous minutus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.131.19.jpg| Anous minutus - MHNT

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References

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  • Guager, V.H. (1999) Black Noddy Anous minutus, in The Birds of North America, No. 412 (Poole, A. and Gill, F. eds) The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
  • Midway atoll US Fish and Wildlife page on the black noddy.
  • New Hampshire Public TV "Natureworks" page on the black noddy.
  • USDA information