Lesser Potoo
Encyclopedia
The Common Potoo, Grey Potoo or Lesser Potoo (Nyctibius griseus), is a nocturnal bird
which breeds in tropical Central
and South America
from Costa Rica
to northern Argentina
and northern Uruguay
. The Northern Potoo
(N. jamaicensis) was formerly classified as a subspecies
of this species.
This potoo
is a large cypselomorph
bird
related to the nightjar
s and frogmouth
s, but like other potoos it lacks the bristles around the mouth found in the true nightjars. It is 33–38 cm long and pale greyish to brown, finely patterned with black and buff, camouflage
d to look like a log; this is a safety measure to help protect it from predators, but its mode of perch is also a camouflage. It has large orange eyes.
The Common Potoo can be located at night by the reflection of light from its eyes as it sits on a post, or by its haunting melancholic song, a BO-OU, BO-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou dropping in both pitch and volume.
It is a resident breeder in open woodlands and savannah. It avoids cooler montane
regions, rarely occurring over 1,900 meters ASL
even in the hottest parts of its range. Also, arid
regions are usually avoided; for example in the dry Caribbean
plain of Colombia
the species was first recorded in April 1999. In gallery forest
-type environment around the Uruguayan-Brazil
ian border, it is by no means uncommon. A bit further south, where the amount of wood- versus grassland is somewhat lower, it is decidedly rare, and due west, in the Entre Ríos Province
of Argentina with its abundant riparian forest it is likewise not common. The birds at the southern end of their range may migrate short distances northwards in winter.
This nocturnal insectivore
hunts from a perch like a shrike
or flycatcher
. 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. If disturbed by larger animals, such as Common Marmoset
s (Callithrix jacchus), it may break its camouflage and try to chase them away however.
The single egg
is white with lilac spots. It laid directly in a depression in a tree limb, usually some meters above ground. It is not clear whether there can be, on occasion, two eggs in a clutch
.
This widespread species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which breeds in tropical Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
from Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
to northern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and northern Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The Northern Potoo
Northern Potoo
The Northern Potoo is a nocturnal bird belonging to the potoo family, Nyctibiidae. It is found from Mexico south to Costa Rica and on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola...
(N. jamaicensis) was formerly classified as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of this species.
This potoo
Potoo
The potoos are a family, Nyctibiidae of near passerine birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called Poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. There are seven species in one genus, Nyctibius, in tropical Central and South America.These are nocturnal insectivores which...
is a large cypselomorph
Cypselomorphae
Cypselomorphae is a clade of birds. It includes the living families and orders Caprimulgidae , Nyctibiidae , Apodiformes , as well as the Aegotheliformes whose distinctness was only recently realized...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
related to the nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s and frogmouth
Frogmouth
The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are found from India across southern Asia to Australia.They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to capture insects. Their flight is weak.They rest horizontally on...
s, but like other potoos it lacks the bristles around the mouth found in the true nightjars. It is 33–38 cm long and pale greyish to brown, finely patterned with black and buff, camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
d to look like a log; this is a safety measure to help protect it from predators, but its mode of perch is also a camouflage. It has large orange eyes.
The Common Potoo can be located at night by the reflection of light from its eyes as it sits on a post, or by its haunting melancholic song, a BO-OU, BO-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou, bo-ou dropping in both pitch and volume.
It is a resident breeder in open woodlands and savannah. It avoids cooler montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
regions, rarely occurring over 1,900 meters ASL
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
even in the hottest parts of its range. Also, arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
regions are usually avoided; for example in the dry Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
plain of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
the species was first recorded in April 1999. In gallery forest
Gallery forest
Gallery forests are evergreen forests that form as corridors along rivers or wetlands and project into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands or deserts....
-type environment around the Uruguayan-Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian border, it is by no means uncommon. A bit further south, where the amount of wood- versus grassland is somewhat lower, it is decidedly rare, and due west, in the Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
of Argentina with its abundant riparian forest it is likewise not common. The birds at the southern end of their range may migrate short distances northwards in winter.
This nocturnal insectivore
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
hunts from a perch like a shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
or flycatcher
Flycatcher
There are various families of bird termed flycatchers:* The Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae* The Tyrant flycatchers, Tyrannidae* The Monarch flycatchers, Dicruridae* The Silky-flycatchers, Ptilogonatidae* The Fairy flycatchers, Stenostiridae...
. 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. If disturbed by larger animals, such as Common Marmoset
Common Marmoset
The common marmoset is a New World monkey. It originally lived on the Northeastern coast of Brazil, in the states of Piaui, Paraiba, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Bahia...
s (Callithrix jacchus), it may break its camouflage and try to chase them away however.
The single egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
is white with lilac spots. It laid directly in a depression in a tree limb, usually some meters above ground. It is not clear whether there can be, on occasion, two eggs in a clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
.
This widespread species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
Further reading
(1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2 (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher HelmHelm Identification Guides
The Helm Identification Guides are a series of books that identify groups of birds. The series include two types of guides, those that are:* Taxonomic, dealing with a particular family of birds on a worldwide scale—most early Helm Guides were this type, as well as many more-recent ones,...
, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
External links
- Common Potoo videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- "Common Potoo" photo gallery VIREO