Grey noddy
| Grey noddy | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Procelsterna |
| Species: | P. albivitta |
| Binomial name | |
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Procelsterna albivitta Bonaparte, 1856 |
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The grey noddy or grey ternlet (Procelsterna albivitta) is a seabird belonging to the family Laridae. It was once regarded as a pale morph of the blue noddy (Procelsterna cerulea) but is now usually considered to be a separate species.
The first formal description of the grey noddy was by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856 under the current binomial name. The specific name albivitta is from the Latin abus for "white" and vitta for "band" or "head-band".
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2016 found that the five noddies formed a single clade with the grey noddy and blue noddy in Procelsterna nested within the species in the genus Anous. The authors proposed that the noddies should be merged into a single genus Anous and that Procelsterna should be considered as a junior synonym.
Three subspecies are recognised:
The grey noddy is 28–31 cm (11–12 in) long with a wingspan of 46–60 cm (18–24 in) and a weight of about 75 grams (2.6 oz). The tail is fairly long and notched. The plumage is pale grey, almost white on the head and underparts but darker on the back, tail and wings. The wings have dark tips and a white hind edge and are mainly white underneath. The eye is black and appears large due to the black patch in front of it. There is a white patch behind the eye. The thin, pointed bill is black and the legs and feet are also black apart from pale yellow webs.
Juvenile birds are browner than the adults and have darker, more contrasting flight feathers.
The grey noddy is usually silent but has a soft, purring call.
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Wikipedia