Anous stolidus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	LARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Anous stolidus

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Brown Noddy, Common Noddy
French	–	Noddi brun

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Brown Noddy is a tropical seabird with a worldwide distribution, ranging from the Hawaiian Islands (USA) to the Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia) and Australia in the Pacific Ocean, including colonies off the Pacific coast of north-west South and Central America, from the Red Sea to the Seychelles and Australia in the Indian Ocean including south-east Asia and in the Caribbean to Tristan da Cunha (St Helena to UK) in the Atlantic Ocean including a colony off the coast of Cameroon. Some colonies are also present in the sub-tropics with individuals from these colonies wintering in the tropics¹.
Countries:	Native: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Australia; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Brazil; British Indian Ocean Territory; Brunei Darussalam; Cameroon; Cayman Islands; Chile; China; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Colombia; Comoros; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Cuba; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Fiji; French Guiana; French Polynesia; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Jamaica; Japan; Kenya; Kiribati; Madagascar; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Martinique; Mauritius; Mayotte; Mexico; Montserrat; Myanmar; Nauru; Netherlands Antilles; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Norfolk Island; Northern Mariana Islands; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Panama; Philippines; Pitcairn; Puerto Rico; Réunion; Saint Helena; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sao Tomé and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Tokelau; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; United Arab Emirates; United States; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Wallis and Futuna; Yemen Vagrant: Bermuda; Gambia; Ghana; Liberia; Niue; Sierra Leone; Togo Present - origin uncertain: American Samoa; Angola; Benin; Cambodia; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; French Southern Territories (the); Gabon; Mozambique; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Samoa; Singapore
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour Although its migratory movements are poorly known and the species is present all year round at most tropical colonies, it is seasonally absent from subtropical colonies and is known to disperse to the open ocean after breeding¹. The timing of breeding varies throughout the species's range¹. It may breed colonially in groups numbering up to 100,000 or more pairs² although it also nests almost solitarily depending on the availability of nesting sites¹. Even when not breeding the species remains gregarious and can occur in huge flocks in some areas, although it is more usually observed in smaller flocks of 50-100 individuals². Habitat The species occurs around isolated, bare or vegetated, pantropical and subtropical, inshore or oceanic islands or coral reefs with rocky cliffs or offshore stacks¹ and coral or sand beaches². It forages in the inshore waters surrounding such islands, often along the line of breakers or in lagoons², and disperses up to 50 km out into the pelagic zone to forage¹ (especially when not breeding)². Out at sea it often rests on buoys, flotsam, ships and on the open water¹. Diet Its diet consists predominantly of small fish² as well as squid¹, pelagic molluscs, medusae and insects². Breeding site The nest may be a simple layer of debris or a more elaborate construction of seaweed and sticks¹, and may be placed in a number of sites including flat shingle beaches, bare ground, cliff ledges, offshore stacks, low bushes and tall trees¹. It nests in colonies that can be very dense or more open depending on the availability of nesting sites¹.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour Although its migratory movements are poorly known and the species is present all year round at most tropical colonies, it is seasonally absent from subtropical colonies and is known to disperse to the open ocean after breeding¹. The timing of breeding varies throughout the species's range¹. It may breed colonially in groups numbering up to 100,000 or more pairs² although it also nests almost solitarily depending on the availability of nesting sites¹. Even when not breeding the species remains gregarious and can occur in huge flocks in some areas, although it is more usually observed in smaller flocks of 50-100 individuals². Habitat The species occurs around isolated, bare or vegetated, pantropical and subtropical, inshore or oceanic islands or coral reefs with rocky cliffs or offshore stacks¹ and coral or sand beaches². It forages in the inshore waters surrounding such islands, often along the line of breakers or in lagoons², and disperses up to 50 km out into the pelagic zone to forage¹ (especially when not breeding)². Out at sea it often rests on buoys, flotsam, ships and on the open water¹. Diet Its diet consists predominantly of small fish² as well as squid¹, pelagic molluscs, medusae and insects². Breeding site The nest may be a simple layer of debris or a more elaborate construction of seaweed and sticks¹, and may be placed in a number of sites including flat shingle beaches, bare ground, cliff ledges, offshore stacks, low bushes and tall trees¹. It nests in colonies that can be very dense or more open depending on the availability of nesting sites¹.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Breeding colonies on islands (e.g. Ascension Island) are threatened by predation from introduced rats and cats¹. Predation from the introduced brown tree snake Boiga irregularis is also likely to have caused the decline in the breeding population on Guam³. Utilisation Eggs, chicks and adults (to a lesser extent) are taken from breeding colonies in the Mariana Islands³.

Major Threat(s):

Breeding colonies on islands (e.g. Ascension Island) are threatened by predation from introduced rats and cats¹. Predation from the introduced brown tree snake Boiga irregularis is also likely to have caused the decline in the breeding population on Guam³. Utilisation Eggs, chicks and adults (to a lesser extent) are taken from breeding colonies in the Mariana Islands³.

Bibliography [top]

	del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Higgins, P. J.; Davies, S. J. J. F. 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds vol 3: snipe to pigeons. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Reichel, J. D. 1991. Status and conservation of seabirds in the Mariana Islands. In: Croxall, J.P. (ed.), Seabird status and conservation: a supplement, pp. 249-262. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, U.K.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Higgins, P. J.; Davies, S. J. J. F. 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds vol 3: snipe to pigeons. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Reichel, J. D. 1991. Status and conservation of seabirds in the Mariana Islands. In: Croxall, J.P. (ed.), Seabird status and conservation: a supplement, pp. 249-262. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, U.K.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Anous stolidus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2012.
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