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10

Common Noddy (Anous stolidus) Alternate name(s): "Brown Noddy", "Greater Noddy" Size: 38-45 cm; wing span ca. 85 cm Weight: 160-225 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Noddies are medium-sized, tern-like pelagic birds. They are all dark greyish-brown, except for a grey cap and black wing tips. The eyes are surrounded by a narrow light-grey eye ring. Bill, legs and feet are black. In-flight, the upperwings show a mid-grey stripe, the underwings are also partly dark-grey. The tail is forked. Juveniles are all dark-brown, expect for narrow, light-grey eye-rings and some scalloping on the upperwings. Twitcher's tip Compared to Black Noddies, the Common Noddy is larger and lighter (more brownish) in appearance.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Noddy at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Noddy is available HERE . Common Noddies populate the tropical seas around the world, especially around islands. Common Noddies, race "pileatus", can reach the Australian continent and offshore islands primarily along its North-East coast in QLD, from about the tip of Cape York peninsula to about Cape Melville, QLD. Farther South along the Australian coastline their distribution is uncertain. They are also seen regularly on islands to the North of WA, but rarely in the Gulf of Carpentaria or Australian coastal waters to the West of the continent. There are some reported sightings in WA, in the area from Perth to Kalbarri NP. Common Noddies can be found on the open seas and, on land, on islands, in particular on beaches and, when nesting, on cliffs and in shrubs and trees.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "pileatus" M. Mearns reports spotting Common Noddies, race "pileatus", on Lady Elliot Island, off the QLD coast near Agnes Water, in January 2006 and again in January 2016. B. Hensen reports spotting Common Noddies, race "pileatus", at North Beach, Lord Howe Island, in November 2014. P. Brown found Common Noddies, race "pileatus", at both Nightcliff and Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in January 2023.

Photos

Race "pileatus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Common Noddy (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Close-up near-frontal view of a Common Noddy (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Common Noddies on the ground (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Near-lateral view of a Common Noddy in coastal shrubs (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2006]

Lateral view of a Common Noddy on a sandy beach (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[North Beach, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Close-up lateral view of a Common Noddy on the ground (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Common Noddies congregating on a stony beach (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Near-frontal view of a Common Noddy in flight (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Lateral view of a Common Noddy in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[North Beach, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Direct comparison of Common Noddies, upper right, and Black Noddies, lower left (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Jun

Eggs: 1

Incubation period: 33 - 35 days

Fledging age: 42 - 49 days

Common Noddies can breed any time of the year, with a preference for the dry season in the tropical North (May-October) and for spring in southern locations (August-February).

Nest building: Female & male

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket or bowl

Material: Seaweeds/leaves or sticks/stones

Height above ground: 0 - 3(?) m

Common Noddies can nest both in low trees/vegetation (in which case they use seaweeds, leaves and other plant material) or on the ground (in which case they use sticks and stones).

Common Noddy on its nest (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Common Noddy on its nest, seen from a different angle (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 52 x 36 mm

Colour: White, with with sparse near-black speckles

Shape: Long tapered oval

Here one can see that there is one egg in the Common Noddy's nest (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]

Common Noddy incubating its egg (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2006]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 6 March 2023, 2:57 +00:00