Nyctibiidae Potoos
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Potoos are night birds that favor exposed perches during the day, trusting their safety to their extraordinarily cryptic plumage. With feathering that resembles furrowed bark covered in lichen, an upturned profile, and a highly reduced bill, these birds often mimic a broken branch stub. At night, they emit distinctive songs, from the plaintive whistles of the Common Potoo Nyctibius griseus to the percussive guttural roar of the Great Potoo grandis. They respond well to tape playback of their songs, often approaching closely and replying repeatedly, and their highly reflective eyes make them relatively easy to find at night. These characteristics have allowed us to document their distribution far better than any other aspect of their biology.
Habitat
Potoos inhabit forests and woodlands throughout most of the Neotropics.
Diet and Foraging
Potoos feed almost exclusively on insects. They hunt only at night, sallying out from a relatively exposed perch to catch flying insects.
Breeding
Potoos are monogamous with biparental care, and their nests are simply a location in a depression on a branch, often in a knot hole. No nest is built, and incubating birds carefully position themselves to conceal the single-egg clutch. The chick hatches after more than a month of incubation, and is likewise concealed as it is brooded. Starting about a month post-hatch, it is left alone on the nest-branch during the day and is fed by the parents only at night. Both parents are active in feeding the chick.
Conservation Status
No potoos face any immediate conservation concerns.
Systematics History
The potoos clearly belong in Caprimulgiformes, but their placement within this order has varied among recent molecular and morphological studies (Barrowclough et al. 2006, Ericson et al. 2006a, Hackett et al. 2008, Braun & Huddleston 2009, Han et al. 2010, Mayr 2010, Mayr 2011). Of the recent molecular studies, the clearest signal is that Nyctibiidae is sister to Steatornithidae, and these two taken together are sister to the remaining caprimulgiform families (Hackett et al. 2008) though morphological studies suggest a close relationship with Caprimulgidae (Mayr 2011). We choose to follow Hackett et al. (2008) in our treatment, placing potoos as sister to Oilbird.
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
100%
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Near Threatened |
0%
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Vulnerable |
0%
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Endangered |
0%
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Critically Endangered |
0%
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Extinct in the Wild |
0%
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Extinct |
0%
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Not Evaluated |
0%
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Data Deficient |
0%
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Unknown |
0%
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Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information