Vorstman's Guideto the birds of Mexico and Central America

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Potoos | Nyctibiiformes

Reuzennachtzwaluwachtigen | Nictibios

A small order with a single family, the potoos, long placed with the nightjars but in fact forming an old, separate branch beside them. All species belong to one genus and live in the American tropics. They are nocturnal birds with a large, flat head, enormous eyes and a small bill that hides a remarkably wide gape; the legs and feet are short and weak and serve only for perching. By day they sit upright and motionless on a broken branch or post, bill pointed upwards, so that their bark-like plumage merges with the wood; small notches in the eyelids let them detect movement even with their eyes closed. At dusk they sally from a lookout after flying insects, returning each time to the same spot. No nest is built: the single egg rests in a hollow or on the broken end of a branch. In this guide the order contains only the family Nyctibiidae.

Families in this order

  • Potoos | Nyctibiidae3 speciesNocturnal birds of tropical America, represented in this guide by three species of a single genus, from the lowlands of Mexico to Panama, in forest, forest edge, open country with scattered trees and mangroves. They are related to the nightjars, with a large head, a tiny bill and an enormously wide gape, with which they catch large flying insects such as beetles and moths in short sallies from a fixed perch. The plumage is grey and brown, finely mottled and barred like tree bark. By day they sit upright and completely still at the end of a broken branch, head pointed upward and tail pressed against the wood, so that they look like a stump of the branch itself. Even with the eyes closed they can detect movement through small notches in the eyelids; at night the large eyes shine brightly in a torch beam. The voice is striking: in the common species a series of melancholy descending whistles, in others a harsh growl or hoarse croak. No nest is built: the single spotted egg rests in a depression or knot on top of a branch, and parent and chick hold the same branch-like posture.