Anous tenuirostris (Lesser noddy) 

Kleinbruinseeswael [Afrikaans]; Kleinbruinsterretjie [Afrikaans]; Kleine noddy [Dutch]; Noddi marianne [French]; Schlankschnabelnoddi [German]; Tinhosa-pequena [Portuguese]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Charadriiformes > Family: Laridae > Genus: Anous

Lesser noddy. [photo Peter Steyn ©]

Distribution and habitat

Breeds on islands in the tropical Indian Ocean, after which it disperses to adjacent areas. Within southern Africa it has been recorded approximately four times in the period from January-May, once in southern Mozambique, twice off KwaZulu-Natal and once off the Eastern Cape.

Food 

It mainly eats fish and squid, doing most of its foraging by dipping into the surface of the water.

References

• Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.