Noddi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Noddi
Adult Noddi

Adult Noddi

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family : Laridae
Subfamily : Noddiseeschwalben (Anoinae)
Genre : Anous
Type : Noddi
Scientific name
Anous stolidus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The Noddi ( Anous stolidus ; also Noddiseeschwalbe or as in English Noddy ) forms a kind within the subfamily of Noddiseeschwalben (Anoinae) within the order of Regenpfeiferartigen . Several subspecies are distinguished.

features

The forehead spot plays a role in courtship

Noddis reach a body length of 38 to 42 cm and a weight of 185 grams. The Noddi has a seagull-like appearance due to its relatively long neck. Its black beak is long and thin, with a slightly protruding gony corner . The feet are dark brown. The basic color is a dark gray-brown, which takes on an even darker color on the arm wings, the hand wings and the control springs. From the coat upwards the color becomes lighter and forms a hood that becomes lighter towards the front. After all, the forehead is completely white and is limited at the bottom by a darker mask. Under the eye there is a sharply defined white ring under the eyes, which particularly highlights the eye. Immature birds have light feather edges on the mantle and wings, especially on the arm covers. The head is very dark gray-brown, only there is a white spot directly on the forehead. There is no sexual dimorphism in the plumage .

In flight, a bright wing stripe can be seen, which extends lengthways from Alula to umbrella feathers . The long wedge-shaped tail is bluntly forked at the end. In the resting position, it protrudes a little over the wings of the hand.

The Noddi differs from other species of the genus by the lighter basic color, the shorter beak, the bright wing stripes and the distance between the tips of the feathers and the tips of the fingers.

Way of life

Egg of a noddis

Voice and behavior

In the breeding colonies gurgling and croaking calls are made.

Noddis are the only terns that can swim for long periods of time. They usually sleep on land on trees or rocks, but sometimes also on the water.

nutrition

Noddis follow schools of fish on the high seas. Large feeding communities can come together at sea. When hunting, they fly close to the surface of the water, sometimes shaking. If the prey is spotted, it does not plunge down like other terns, but picks it up with its beak while flying over it. The diet consists of fish and octopus. A special hunting strategy is known from the Noddise Tern. When a school of smaller fish is pursued by predatory fish, some of the former jump over or close to the surface of the water in the hope of escaping the predators underwater. These fish are then grabbed from the air by the terns. Something similar is known of the sooty tern and the fairy tern .

Reproduction

Noddis breed in colonies on islands in tropical and subtropical seas. In the courtship of bright forehead spot plays a major role. He is shown to the potential partner and he is indicated by a nod of the head. Hence the name. In English to nod means " nod your head". The female noddi lays a single egg, and they build the large nest from seaweed and twigs. It is usually erected at a height of 30 to 160 centimeters in bushes or trees (such as mangroves), occasionally also on ledges or on the ground.

Breeding birds show defensive behavior towards other animal species that come too close to the brood; however, humans can lift them out of the nest without resistance during incubation. The young birds stay in or around the nest until they are able to fly. In contrast to other terns, they are supplied with highly choked food, as is typical for seagulls.

Habitat and Distribution

Breeding areas are the islands of tropical and subtropical waters in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The northernmost breeding areas are on the Red Sea and the Caribbean , the southernmost on the South Pacific islands. The birds are part migrants.

In the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, the species is classified as Least Concern (not endangered).

Subspecies

The Noddi was described by Carl von Linné in 1758 under the name Sterna stolida . There are four subspecies:

  • A. st. stolidus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Atlantic Brown Noddy - Atlantic (Caribbean, Cameroon )
  • A. st. pileatus (Scopoli, 1786) - Noddy Tern - Indian Ocean (East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Oceania)
  • A. st. galapagensis Sharpe, 1879 - Galapagos Brown Noddy - Galápagos Islands , Ecuador
  • A. st. ridgwayi Anthony, 1898 - Mexico , Costa Rica , Cocos Island

Occasionally a fifth subspecies of Anous stolidus pileatus is split off:

  • A. st. plumbeigularis Sharpe, 1879 - Red Sea Noddy - Red Sea

Other species of noddi

The subfamily of the Noddise Tern contains the following other species, which are also referred to as "Noddi" with an addition to their name:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Steven L. Hilty, Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee: Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0691092508 , p. 313.
  2. ↑ a b van Perlo
  3. ↑ a b c Harrison, Greensmith
  4. ↑ a b c Grzimek
  5. ↑ a b c Jahn

literature

  • Bernhard Grzimek: Grzimeks animal life. Volume 8 - Birds 2 . Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, Munich 1968, ISBN 3423059702 , pp. 224-225
  • Theo Jahn: Brehm's new animal encyclopedia. Volume 7 - Birds 3. Verlag Herder KG, Freiburg im Breisgau Special edition for Prisma Verlag GmbH, Gütersloh 1982, ISBN 3570086062 , p. 196
  • Joseph Forshaw: Encyclopedia of Birds. Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 3828915574 , p. 112
  • Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds . Ravensburger Buchverlag, Otto Maier GmbH, 1994, ISBN 3473460761 , p. 154
  • Ber van Perlo : Birds of New Zealand, Hawaii, Central and West Pacific. HarperCollins Publishers, 2011, pp. 152-153

Web links

Commons : Noddi ( Anous stolidus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files