Black Noddy
Anous minutus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusAnous (Noddies)
- SpeciesAnous minutus (Black Noddy)
About the Black Noddy
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.
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) –... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Bridled Tern
Onychoprion anaethetus
Black-naped Tern
Sterna sumatrana
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida
Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
Lesser Crested Tern
Thalasseus bengalensis
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterus
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isla del Coco National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Black Noddy in Raja Ampat?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Noddy sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Black Noddy in Raja Ampat?
April has the highest sighting rate for Black Noddy in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.