* Black Noddy  Anous minutus

TX Coastal / Offshore Status:  Accidental, with five documented records.

Gulf of Mexico Status: Irregular visitor amoung Brown Noddies at the Dry Tortugas, FL. A vagrant in the West Indies.

Range: Occurs through much of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Nearest breeding colony in Aruba.

Similar Species: Separating Black from Brown Noddy requires detailed study of both plumage and bill structure.

Never Seen on Texas Pelagic trip. Accidental in Texas.
* Texas Review Species, requiring written or photographic documentation to TBRC.
(1) TOS Handbook of Texas Birds; by Mark W. Lockwood and Brush Freeman (2005)

Seasonal Occurrence Graph

Texas Pelagics Sightings Distribution

This map shows the geographic distribution of <species>  found in Offshore Texas (and Gulf of Mexico)
Click on the box in the upper left of the map to view the map legend.
Click on each sighting symbol and the data label will appear showing the time, date and the number of birds seen.
Click on the link on the bottom of the map to view a larger map.

Texas Pelagics Sightings Distribution 

Map 1) The live Google map above shows the geographic distribution of Black Noddy found in Offshore Texas from lat-long data I’ve captured from 35 years of Texas Pelagics. 
Click on the box in the upper left of the map to view the map legend.
Click on each sighting symbol and the data label will appear showing the time, date and the number of birds seen.
Click on the symbol on the top right of the map to view a larger map.

The next two map images are copied from eBird.

Map 2) The map below is zoomed into Texas and Louisiana to show individual locations.

Map 3) The bottom map is zoomed out to show the GOM, the northern Caribbean Sea and the adjacent western tropical Atlantic ocean. 

Photos below are of the fifth Texas Record of Black Noddy found at the Port Aransas jetties on April 26, 2025.  This bird stayed to the delight of many Texas birders until May 14, 2025. It was the first record in 21 years, with the previous record being seen on the Flower Garden Banks far offshore on May 12 – 15, 2003.

Photos below show comparison of Black Noddy to breeding plumaged Black Tern. The Black Noddy is slightly larger with a longer bill, 2″ longer in length and 3″+ longer wingspan. the underwing of the noddy is black and the breeding plumaged Black Tern has smoky gray underwings. 

Photos below show comparison of Black Noddy to Common Tern. The Black Noddy is slightly longer with a longer bill, but a shorter wingspan by 1-5″.

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