Common potoo

Nyctibius griseus

Description:

Spotted in Misiones, Argentina. The common potoo is a nocturnal bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America from Nicaragua to northern Argentina and northern Uruguay. During the day it perches upright on a tree stump, and is completely invisible, looking like part of the stump because it stays so completely still as it perches.

Habitat:

It is a resident breeder in open woodlands and savannah. It avoids cooler montane regions, rarely occurring over 1,900 meters above sea level, even in the hottest parts of its range.

Species ID Suggestions

17 Comments

remco.douma 9 years ago

Thanks Daniele for the "Fact of the Day" and thank you too Neil :-)

Neil Ross 9 years ago

An awesome spotting. Congrats on you SOTD. Potoos even perch with the classic "stumping" pose, exactly like the Tawny Frogmouths. The resemblance of both species is uncanny.

DanielePralong 9 years ago

You're on a roll remco.douma! Your spotting has been chosen for Project Noah Fact of the Day: " Potoos (family Nyctibiidae) are a group of nocturnal birds found exclusively in the New World. They resemble the frogmouths of Australasia with their large head, broad mouth and big eyes. Potoos perch upright on tree stumps, undetected with their cryptic plumage. Potoos also have unusual slits in their eyelids, which allow them to detect changes in light and movement even with their eyes closed.

Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus), spotted in Argentina by Project Noah user remco.douma".
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...

remco.douma 9 years ago

Thank you Bhagya, Fyn and Larry!

LarryGraziano 9 years ago

Bien linda! Que suerte!

Fyn Kynd 9 years ago

Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!