Brown noddy

Anous stolidus

The Brown noddy (Anous stolidus) is a bird found in Ecuador, Australia, United States, French Polynesia and Taiwan. Warm oceans around the world, nesting on remote 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 stolidus
Region	South America
Found in	Ecuador, Australia, United States, French Polynesia and Taiwan

🏡 Where the Brown noddy lives

Warm oceans around the world, nesting on remote islands.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish70%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%

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 flies low over the water and picks fish from the surface.

Hear the Brown noddy

Recorded by Johannes Fischer (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), xeno-canto XC148686. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Brown noddy

Where does the Brown noddy live?

The Brown noddy lives in Ecuador, Australia, United States, French Polynesia and Taiwan. Warm oceans around the world, nesting on remote islands.

What does the Brown noddy eat?

fish (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Brown noddy endangered?

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

More birds from South America

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