The noddies form their own little subgroup within the terns, a small tropical group (how related they are to each other I am unsure) that will be familiar to anyone birding on tropical islands, especially those far from continents. The name of these terns comes from their utter fearlessness on their breeding grounds, which was sadly taken for foolhardiness. It does make them excellent subjects for photography if you ever find yourself in their colonies however. I was lucky enough to have the chance to spend time with four species on French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, on the aptly named Tern Island. One of these species was the Brown Noddy.
The Brown Noddy
On Tern Island the species nests on the ground, in other places it may nest on cliffs or in large trees
Nesting in dense vegetation (for a Brown Noddy anyway)
A chick!
Photographing Brown Noddies requires getting down low
Loafing around
Brown Noddies are quite vocal
Brown Noddies share their colonies with many other species
Lewis was a leucistic Brown Noddy chick
On the seawall
Great post and photos! They are such fabulous birds! I got to see them, too, on Lord Howe Island. But only from a distance.