Anous
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A. stolidus |
Anous is a genus of birds in the tern family. It consists of three species,
- Brown Noddy or Common Noddy, Anous stolidus
- Black Noddy, Anous minutus
- Lesser Noddy, Anous tenuirostris
Lesser Noddy is sometimes consider to be a subspecies of Black Noddy
These are dark-plumaged terns of tropical oceans, which nest colonially. They feed on small fish caught by plunge diving.
Anous is Greek for "stupid" (Harrison, 1990; see also nous). These birds are often unwary and were well known to sailors for their apparent indifference to hunters or predators.
[edit] References
- Peter Harrison, Seabirds, an Identification Guide (1983) ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
- Olsen and Larsson, Terns of Europe and North America ISBN 0-7136-4056-1
