Other Names (World)
Blue Noddy, Blue Ternlet, Blue-grey Ternlet, Grey Ternlet, Grey Noddy, Gray Noddy, Blue-grey Noddy, Blue-gray Noddy, Blue-grey Tern, Little Grey Tern, Blue-gray Fairy-Tern, Blue-gray Fairy Ternlet, Necker Island Tern, San Ambrosio Grey Ternlet, Little Blue Petrel, Blue Billy, Patro
Rare vagrant to eastern Australia, usually after storms in the western Pacific Ocean, but common at breeding colonies on Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands.
Habitat
Inshore waters along coasts, around islands. Forages over calm waters in lee of cliffs or reefs. Pelagic. Roosts on ledges of island cliffs.
American Samoa, Australia (B), Chile (B), Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands (B), New Caledonia, New Zealand (B), Norfolk Island (B), Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Tonga (B), USA.
Voice
Rapid, sharp, purr, almost like a cats, 'meiow', rising in pitch and frequency to a high squeak, 'qar-ar-ar-ar-air-aik-aaiik'. A quick rattle that lasts from one half to one second.
Blue Noddy (Anous ceruleus) [XC145581]
by id from Nihoa Island, Hawaii, United States (call)
Blue Noddy (Anous ceruleus) [XC75444]
by Eric VanderWerf from Cook Isle, Kiritimati, Kiribati, Kiribati (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly September - December.
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Nest
A cliff ledge or rock crevice.
Eggs (Guide)
1; greyish-white, sometimes with a few reddish markings.
Young
Precocial, semi-nidifugous. Fledge in about 37 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Grey Noddy (Anous albivittus) and often considered conspecific.
Some authors have claimed that subspecies skottsbergii and imitatrix of Grey Noddy (Anous albivittus) belong to Grey Ternlet (Anous ceruleus), but specimen evidence refutes this.
Procelsterna cerulea (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was split into Grey Ternlet (Anous ceruleus) and Grey Noddy (Anous albivittus) by SACC (2005). This treatment is not followed by the BirdLife International because other potential subspecies of Grey Noddy (Anous albivittus) (albivitta and skottsbergii) are not split by other standard sources: AOU (1998), Christidis and Boles (1994), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993) and Turbott (1990).
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
saxatilis (Fisher, WK, 1903) - Marcus I and northern Marshall Is east to north-western Hawaiian Is.
nebouxi (Mathews, 1912) - Tuvalu (Ellice Is) east to Phoenix Is and south to Fiji and western Samoa.
ceruleus (F. D. Bennett, 1840) - Kiritimati (Christmas) I in Line Is, and also Marquesas Is.
teretirostris (Lafresnaye, 1841) - Tuamotu Is, and probably this race likewise in Cook, Austral and Society Is.
murphyi (Mougin & Naurois, 1981) - Gambier Is.
Similar Species
In bright light and at a distance can appear paler and be confused with White Tern (Gygis alba).
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet