CONT... 'noddy-bird' puzzle, 1699, William Dampier--
I've received the following suggestions--
- 'either a Bridled Tern or a Sooty tern. Pretty broad white
circle presumably refers to the white frons (a feature more prominent
in Sooty terns), the black streak is the black feathering that
extends forward of the eye to the bill. The faint black or smoke is a
bit ambiguous. I reckon Sooty terns are faint black (at least when in
the hand) whereas Bridled Terns might be more 'smoke' dorsally'
- frigatebird
- 'Bridled Tern? (not sure about the facial streaks though)'
--from Rohan, David, & Tom, (not necessarily in the above order,) thank you.
I think frigatebird would be too big, since Dampier implies
he's seen other 'noddy-birds' when he says this one 'was of another
shape and colour than any I had seen before'... don't you think?
It would seem that what we call Noddys, Anous, were exotic in
his experience, as there aren't any listed in my modern guidebook for
Europe/UK (except as Vagrant). Of our 'noddy-terns', none of the
Noddys have the coal-black head and white underparts he describes.
The Bridled & Sooty terns do have the most likely look. Then when I
compared world range maps for all the terns with the Europe/UK guide
and our Australian books, it appeared that Bridled is the one dark
(noddy-like, yet 'of another shape and colour'), oceanic,
swallow-tailed tern in those n-w WA seas which Dampier is least
likely to have met with either at home or on his travels.
But some of the markings Dampier describes (as noted in some
of the comments above) seem a bit iffy for this bird -- for instance,
when he writes of 'small black streaks round about and close to the
eyes; and round these streaks, on each side, a pretty broad white
circle', does he mean, a circle from one side to the other round the
head; or, a white circle clear around each eye; or, parts of a circle
broken by streaks each side of the eye... or, as above, the circle of
the white frons between the eyes?
Could the bird have been immature or between plumages...?
It's the end of August when Dampier's writing, so presumably early
summer migrants might be arriving in those waters, & late winterers
might be leaving; and locally born youngsters might be staying put...
Cheers,
Judith.
PS: Thanks also Bob -- for good, further Wm.Dampier reference.
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