Scientific Classification
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Caprimulgiformes
FAMILY: Nyctibiidae
GENUS: Nyctibius
SPECIES: Nyctibius griseus
Conservation Status
The common potoo is a relatively large bird with an overall length of 1-12 inches and a wingspan of 2 and a half feet. They are comparable to the size of a crow or raven.
They are highly evolved to catch insects in mid-air with great success. Their unusually large heads sport huge yellow-orange eyes that give them acute vision and that helps them spot even the tiniest insects in the pitch dark. If you look carefully they have a second pair of clear eyelids they use to protect their eyes during hunts.
Their gaping mouths give them the best chances at catching insects right out of the air much like a frog.
The common potoo exhibits disruptive coloring and is a master of camouflage during the day. Their mottled appearance makes them look like a branch or tree bark with lichens growing on them. It is not only their coloration that helps them blend in, but also how they position their body.
They will pose perfectly still all day and look just like a snag or branch, and will only move if disturbed and appear almost completely invisible even to humans.
The wings of a potoo are broad and stocky; birds with wings like this are excellent at navigating through the forest. They can hunt and catch insects without ever hitting or crashing into a branch, a truly remarkable feat!
They hunt from perches close to their daytime roost waiting for insects to fly nearby before swooping into action and catching them. Perches can sometimes be just a few meters off the ground or higher.
Potoos do not build nests, but will lay a single egg in tree hollows or on top of a depression in tree branches, snags, or logs. They will nest during the wet season, which varies depending on the region they live.
They are monogamous and will pair with the same mate for life. Both the male and female look so similar it is hard to tell which is which sometimes.
In about one month, the egg hatches and a tiny white chick is born, when both the male and female will help rear the young and bring it insects through regurgitation. In about 50 days, the chick is ready to fledge.
Interestingly, the common potoo has such a strong instinct to camouflage itself that even the young birds adopt the characteristic upright posture that mimics a log or branch.
They are a medium-sized bird native to Central and South America that hunts aerial insects primarily at night. This is why they have such strikingly large eyes, which enables them to spot insects with incredible precision.
They also have uncanny camouflage and will even position their body upright on trees and snags posing perfectly still so they blend in and look just like a stump or branch. In fact, the common potoo are so confident in their camouflage that oftentimes they won’t even move until the very last moment!
The common potoo is mostly solitary, only interacting with other birds during breeding season. It is territorial and will use its haunting call to advertise its territory to other potoos.
