Blue noddy
A tropical seabird with five subspecies and a disputed taxonomy.
Last updated
The blue noddy (Anous ceruleus), also known as the hinaokū, manuohina, or blue-grey noddy, is a seabird in the family Laridae. It inhabits open, shallow seas in tropical and subtropical regions, with a range spanning American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga (Niua), Tuvalu, and Hawaii, and has occurred as a vagrant in Australia and Japan.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderCharadriiformes
- FamilyLaridae
- GenusAnous
- SpeciesAnous ceruleus
Named by (Bennett, FD, 1840)
Close relatives
Other species of Anous with a Codexery entry.
- Grey noddy Anous albivitta
- Black noddy Anous minutus
- Brown noddy Anous stolidus
- Lesser noddy Anous tenuirostris
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Blue noddy (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.6 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Blue noddy
Where the blue noddy has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,055 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 4 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Background
The blue noddy was first formally described by Frederick Debell Bennett in 1840 under the binomial name Sterna cerulea, with the specific name ceruleus meaning 'dark blue' in Latin. It was later placed in the genus Procelsterna, but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2016 found that the five noddies formed a single clade, with the blue noddy and grey noddy nested between species in the genus Anous; the authors proposed merging all noddies into Anous and treating Procelsterna as a junior synonym.
A seabird observed at Necker Island, the French Frigate Shoals, and Nīhoa during a 1902 cruise by the USFC Albatross was initially thought new to science and named Procelsterna saxatalis (Necker Island tern), but later reclassified as a subspecies of the blue noddy. The species has five recognized subspecies: A. c. saxatilis, A. c. ceruleus, A. c. nebouxi, A. c. teretirostris, and A. c. murphyi. The grey noddy (Anous albivitta) replaces it to the south; the two were formerly considered a single species but are now often split.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Blue Noddy?
The Blue Noddy (Anous ceruleus) is a small tropical seabird in the gull family Laridae, locally known as hinaokū or manuohina and sometimes called the blue-grey noddy. It is a widespread but relatively compact species of the Pacific.
Who first described the Blue Noddy and what was its original name?
Frederick Debell Bennett gave the species its formal scientific description in 1840, originally placing it in the genus Sterna under the binomial Sterna cerulea. It was later transferred to the genus Anous, where it remains today.
More in Birds of the Pacific Ocean
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Blue noddy (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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