* Brown Noddy  Anous stolidus

TX Coastal / Offshore Status: Casual to very rare summer visitor to offshore waters and the coast. There are 24 documented records all from coastal / offshore areas.

Habitat: pelagic waters

Similar Species: Very similar to Black Noddy and juvenile Sooty Tern (uncommon). Brown Noddy differs from Black Noddy by the combination of larger size, dark brown (not black) plumage, relatively shorter and thicker bill, and less contrasting white crown. Differs from juvenile Sooty Tern by having complete dark brown (not black) plumage, double-rounded tail (not forked), shorter, more rounded wings, and behavior (swooping flight or hovering along the surface).

Voice: low-pitched grating calls.

* Texas Review Species, requiring written or photographic documentation to TBRC.
(1) TOS Handbook of Texas Birds; by Mark W. Lockwood and Brush Freeman (2005)
(2) Lower Texas Coast Status from Brad McKinney’s annotated checklist (updated 2009).

Seasonal Occurrence Graph

Texas Pelagics Sightings Distribution

This map shows the geographic distribution of Brown Noddy 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.

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