Brown Noddy

The brown noddy, or common noddy, is the largest of the noddies, 38–45cm long with a wingspan of 75–86cm. It is dark chocolate-brown with a pale grey or white crown and forehead, a narrow, incomplete white eye-ring, a long wedge-shaped tail and dark legs. It is told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and browner, not black, plumage. It is a tropical seabird found across the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans (Wikipedia, general species account).

It nests in colonies, usually on cliffs or in low trees and shrubs, building a platform of sticks and twigs, and only occasionally lays on bare ground. In courtship the pair bow and nod to each other and the male passes the female a freshly caught fish. The single egg is incubated by both parents in shifts of a day or two for 33–36 days, and the chick grows fast, fledging at six to seven weeks. SoIB 2023 lists it as resident in Indian waters with local movements, but gives no trend or priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).