FLORIDA KEYS BEST

A Guide to John Audubon's visit to the Florida Keys

CLICK image Above for LODGING Hotels and motels Florida Keys and Key West       AUDUBON IN THE FLORIDA KEYS     INDEX    AUDUBON INDIAN KEY 1832 CORMORANT ROSEATE TERN GRAY KINGBIRD REDDISH EGRET LOUISIANA HERON SANDY KEY WHITE IBIS WILLET   ZENAIDA DOVE WHITE CROWNED PIGEON THE AUDUBON HOUSE IN KEY WEST AUDUBON'S KEY WEST KEY WEST AFTER AUDUBON ROSEATE SPOONBILL GREAT WHITE HERON GREAT BLUE HERON KEY WEST DOVE FLAMINGOS BLUE- HEADED QUAIL DOVE FRIGATE BIRD BROWN PELICAN MANGROVE CUCKOO TORTUGAS SOOTY TERN BLACK HEADED GULL BROWN NODDY CAYENNE TERN BROWN BOOBY SANDWICH TERN NIGHT HERON GREENSHANK GREAT MARBLED GODWIT MANGO HUMMING- BIRD TROPIC BIRD BIRDING LODGING ONLINE STORE   BOOK ORDERS AUDUBON PRINTS NATURALIST PHOTOS     FLORIDA KEYS BEST INDEX KIDS IN THE KEYS LINKS FAMILIES IN THE FLORIDA KEYS COMPANION SITE - DUCK KEY ONLINE     BIRD LINKS

John Audubon paints the Noddy Tern in the Dry Tortugas     May 11, 1832 - Noddy Tern (Brown Noddy) painted on an islet Audubon named Noddy Key in the Dry Tortugas. Noddy Key is thought to be present day Bush Key Noddy Tern (Brown Noddy)   Above image from Historical Museum of Southern Florida - Audubon images at the Historical Museum website were produced from prints of an original Elephant Folio belonging to the museum. http://www.historical-museum.org/collect/audubon/audubon.htm) See Audubon House     Audubon painted the Noddy tern while visiting the Tortugas. The background painting by Havell seen in this scene is uncharacteristic of the landscape of the Tortugas or the Keys. Portions of Audubon's description from the Ornithological Biography, Volume III, pages 516-518 appear below:    "At the beginning of May, the Noddies collect from all parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Florida, for the purpose of returning to their breeding places, on one of the Tortugas called Noddy Key. . . . On visiting their island on the 11th of May 1832, I was surprised to see that many of them were repairing and augmenting nests of twigs and dry grass, which they place on bushes or low trees, but never on the ground. . . . " "The noddies form regular nests of twigs and dry grass, which they place on the bushes or low trees, but never on the ground. On visiting their island [Noddy Key] on the 11th of May 1832, I was surprised to see that many of them were repairing and augmenting nests that had remained through the winter, while others employed in constructing new ones, and some were already sitting on their eggs. In a great many instances their repaired nests formed masses nearly 2 feet in height, and yet all of them had only a slight hollow for the eggs . . . " "The Noddy, like most other species of terns, lays three eggs, which average two inches in length, by an inch and three-eighths in breadth, and are reddish-yellow colour, spotted and patched with dull red and faint purple. They afford excellent eating, and our sailors seldom failed to collect bucketfuls of them daily during our stay at the Tortugas." ". . . It does not see well at night, and it is perhaps for this reason that it frequently alights on the spars of vessels, where it sleeps so sound that the seamen often catch them. When seized in the hand it offers a rough cry . . . On such occasions, it does not disgorge its food . . . although it bites severely, with quickly repeated movements of the bill, . . . Some of which I've kept several days, refused all kinds of food, became dull and languid, and at length died . . . The tail of the Noddy is cueate, instead of being forked, in which respect it differs essentially from that of the other species. Perhaps the naturalists who placed it in the same genus as the Roseate tern, may have been nodding over their books.       Additional information about the brown noddy may be found by following the link below to the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas. The Atlas, a collaborative effort of Audubon of Florida, the Florida Ornithological Society, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission provides information of general status, habitat, and status of  breeding species in Florida   http://wildflorida.org/bba/BRNO.htm  Additional information about the brown noddy may be found by following ththis link to eNature.com          THIS PAGE CREATED BY FLORIDA KEYS BEST COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL http://www.floridakeysbest.com site map email@floridakeysbest.com Florida Keys Best 386 East Seaview Drive Marathon, Florida 33050 305-289-1872