Brown Noddy

Overview
Brown Noddy: Medium tern, brown except for white forehead blending to gray nape, and small white (lower) half-eye ring. Wedge shaped tail has small notch at tip. Black bill is long, slender. Black legs, feet. Strong, swift flight with steady wing beats. Often flies with erratic changes of direction.

Range and Habitat
Brown Noddy: Only breeding colony (protected) is in Dry Tortugas. Casual in Gulf of Mexico to Texas, and Gulf Stream to North Carolina outer banks.

INTERESTING FACTS
Chicks reach adult weight in 18 days. Most chicks outweigh parents in six weeks. They are capable of short flights before reaching full wing development, and will flee if alarmed. The Brown Noddy is the largest member of the noddy family; they weigh twice as much as black noddies. This species exhibits breeding-site fidelity to an extraordinary degree. Apparently a pair returns to exactly the same nest year after year. A group of noddys are collectively known as an "affirmation", "niddle", and "sleepiness" of noddys.