Black noddy

Anous minutus

The Black noddy (Anous minutus) is a bird found in United States, Australia, Palau, Norfolk Island, French Polynesia and U.S. Outlying Islands. Warm tropical oceans and islands. It eats fish and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Anous minutus
Region	Australia & Oceania
Found in	United States, Australia, Palau, Norfolk Island, French Polynesia and U.S. Outlying Islands

🏡 Where the Black noddy lives

Warm tropical oceans and islands.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish90%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It builds nests in trees on islands, which is unusual for seabirds.

Hear the Black noddy

Recorded by Sreekar (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC841103. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Black noddy

Where does the Black noddy live?

The Black noddy lives in United States, Australia, Palau, Norfolk Island, French Polynesia and U.S. Outlying Islands. Warm tropical oceans and islands.

What does the Black noddy eat?

fish (about 90%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Black noddy endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Australia & Oceania

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.