Lesser Noddy

The lesser noddy, also called the sooty noddy, is a seabird found near the coasts of the Comoros, Kenya, India, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. It is 30 to 34 cm long with a wingspan of 58 to 63 cm and weighs 97 to 120 g. The plumage is brownish black with a lighter forehead and crown. It is smaller and slightly paler than the black noddy and has pale rather than dark lores (Wikipedia, general species account).

It was once treated as a subspecies of the black noddy, a close relationship confirmed by a 2016 molecular study. The 2012 National Red List gives no status under this name.