# Lesser noddy

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lesser_noddy
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lesser_noddy.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_noddy
> Source revision: 1314917547
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Species of bird

Lesser noddy Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae Genus: Anous Species: A. tenuirostris Binomial name Anous tenuirostris (Temminck, 1823) Synonyms Anous minutus tenuirostris

The **lesser noddy** (***Anous tenuirostris***), also known as the **sooty noddy**, is a [seabird](/source/Seabird) in the family [Laridae](/source/Laridae). It is found near the coastlines of [Comoros](/source/Comoros), [Kenya](/source/Kenya), [India](/source/India), [Maldives](/source/Maldives), [Mauritius](/source/Mauritius), [Seychelles](/source/Seychelles), [Somalia](/source/Somalia), [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka) and [United Arab Emirates](/source/United_Arab_Emirates).

The lesser noddy was at one time considered as a [subspecies](/source/Subspecies) of the [black noddy](/source/Black_noddy) (*Anous minutus*).[2] The close relationship between the two species was confirmed by a [molecular phylogenetic](/source/Molecular_phylogenetic) study published in 2016.[3]

## Taxonomy

The first [formal description](/source/Species_description) of the lesser noddy was by the Dutch zoologist [Coenraad Jacob Temminck](/source/Coenraad_Jacob_Temminck) in 1823 under the [binomial name](/source/Binomial_name) *Sterna tenuirostris*.[4][5] The [genus](/source/Genus) *Anous* was introduced by the English naturalist [James Francis Stephens](/source/James_Francis_Stephens) in 1826.[6] *Anous* is [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) for "stupid" or "foolish". The specific name *tenuirostris* is from the Latin *tenuis* for "slender" and *-rostris* "-billed".[7]

There are two subspecies:[8]

- *A. t. tenuirostris* ([Temminck](/source/Coenraad_Jacob_Temminck), 1823) - [islands](/source/List_of_islands_in_the_Indian_Ocean) of the west & north [Indian Ocean](/source/Indian_Ocean)

- *A. t. melanops* [Gould](/source/John_Gould), 1846 - [Houtman Abrolhos Islands](/source/Houtman_Abrolhos_Islands) ([Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia))

## Description

The lesser noddy is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) in length with a wingspan of 58–63 cm (23–25 in) and a weight of 97–120 g (3.4–4.2 oz). The plumage is brownish black. The forehead and crown are lighter in colour. This species is smaller and slightly paler than the similar [black noddy](/source/Black_noddy) and has pale rather than dark [lores](/source/Lore_(anatomy)).[2]

## Ecology

[Giant tortoises](/source/Aldabra_giant_tortoise) have been observed to hunt the bird on [Fregate Island](/source/Fr%C3%A9gate_Island) in the [Seychelles](/source/Seychelles).[9]

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Anous tenuirostris](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Anous_tenuirostris).

[Wikispecies](/source/Wikispecies) has information related to ***[Anous tenuirostris](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Anous_tenuirostris)***.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-iucn_status_11_November_2021_1-0)** BirdLife International (2018). ["*Anous tenuirostris*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22694805/132575736). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2018** e.T22694805A132575736. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694805A132575736.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694805A132575736.en). Retrieved 11 November 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-hbw_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-hbw_2-1) Gochfeld, M.; Burger, J.; Garcia, E.F.J. ["Lesser Noddy (*Anous tenuirostris*)"](http://www.hbw.com/node/54051). In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). *Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive*. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 17 April 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cibois, A.; Thibault, J.-C.; Rocamora, G.; Pasquet, E. (2016). "Molecular phylogeny and systematics of Blue and Grey Noddies (*Procelsterna*)". *Ibis*. **158** (2): 433–438. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/ibi.12363](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fibi.12363).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Temminck, Coenraad Jacob](/source/Coenraad_Jacob_Temminck) (1838) [1823]. [*Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servier de suite et de complement aux planches enluminées de Buffon*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35518233). Vol. 5. Paris: F.G. Levrault. Plate 202.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Peters, James Lee](/source/James_L._Peters), ed. (1934). [*Check-list of Birds of the World*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483160). Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 347.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Stephens, James Francis](/source/James_Francis_Stephens) (1826). [*General zoology, or Systematic natural history, by George Shaw*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36850144). Vol. 13, Part 1. London: G. Kearsley. p. 139. The title page gives the year as 1825.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Jobling, James A. (2010). [*The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names*](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling). London: Christopher Helm. pp. [48](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n48), 381. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4081-2501-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4081-2501-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ioc_8-0)** [Gill, Frank](/source/Frank_Gill_(ornithologist)); Donsker, David, eds. (2019). ["Noddies, gulls, terns, auks"](https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/gulls/). *World Bird List Version 9.2*. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Zora, Anna; Gerlach, Justin (2021-08-23). ["Giant tortoises hunt and consume birds"](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2021.06.088). *Current Biology*. **31** (16): R989–R990. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021CBio...31.R989Z](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021CBio...31.R989Z). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.088](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2021.06.088). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0960-9822](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0960-9822). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34428417](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34428417).

Taxon identifiers Anous tenuirostris Wikidata: Q941644 Wikispecies: Anous tenuirostris ADW: Anous_tenuirostris AFD: Anous_tenuirostris Avibase: 03F9EB153E1DD50C BirdLife: 22694805 BOW: lesnod1 CoL: 66Y6T eBird: lesnod1 EURING: 6290 GBIF: 2481112 iNaturalist: 4538 IRMNG: 11254363 ITIS: 176943 IUCN: 22694805 NCBI: 297803 NZOR: f4463eb0-0c46-4284-a3f3-98527e2a22f5 Observation.org: 73099 OBIS: 212630 Open Tree of Life: 915884 Paleobiology Database: 335268 SeaLifeBase: 94429 WoRMS: 212630 Xeno-canto: Anous-tenuirostris Sterna tenuirostris Wikidata: Q109578421 GBIF: 5817201

This Charadriiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Charadriiformes-stub)
- [t](/source/Template_talk%3ACharadriiformes-stub)
- [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Charadriiformes-stub)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lesser noddy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_noddy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_noddy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.