Brown Noddy

Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) is a tropical tern with dark brown plumage, pale grey-white crown and a long wedge-shaped tail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It catches small fish and squid over warm seas and nests colonially on cliffs, trees or shrubs, laying one egg. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).