but the Pisonia is most often used, and in large trees, there are often several nests. The guano produced by these birds adds large quantities of nutrients to the soil which is of great importance to the plant communities on coral islands. Distribution The black noddy has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas, with colonies widespread in the Pacific Ocean and more scattered across the Caribbean, central Atlantic and in the northeast Indian Ocean. At sea it is usually seen close to its breeding colonies within 80 km of shore. Birds return to their colonies, or to other islands, to roost at night. Cultural significance This is one of the landfinding birds whose daily foraging flights were traditionally employed by Pacific navigators to locate unseen atolls. Gallery References Guager, V.H. (1999) Black Noddy Anous minutus, in ''The Birds of North America, No412 (Poole, A. and Gill, F. eds) The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. External links Midway atoll US Fish and Wildlife page on the black noddy. New Hampshire Public TV "Natureworks" page on the black noddy. USDA information Anous black noddy Birds of Ascension Island Birds of the Atlantic Ocean Birds of the Pacific Ocean Birds of the Gulf of Guinea Birds of Hawaii Birds of Puerto Rico Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Saint Helena Island black noddy black noddy Articles containing video clips Birds of Norfolk Island Pantropical fauna