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Potoo Looks Like Broken Part Of A Tree This Unique Bird
In the photo given above, there is no broken part of the tree but a living creature, if you don't believe it, then look carefully at the photo once, the name of this camouflage bird is Potoo, which is the master of camouflage. There are amazing birds in this world and some birds are so tremendous that it is not even believed.
Potoo sits on trees in such a way as if there is a broken part of the tree, which becomes difficult to see. Not only this, one has to look carefully to see these birds. You must read this article completely, only then you will be able to know about this bird closely.
Where Are Potoo Found
During the day, Potoo remains almost completely still with eyes closed, as if there is a broken part of a tree. Due to the color of their feathers like trees, it camouflages so well that it is almost impossible to identify them.
Potoo is a strange bird, this owl-like Potoo is completely different. This bird hides in trees during the day and to avoid predators, it sits on the tree like a broken part of the tree. Which becomes very difficult to see.
Potoo is mostly found in Central America and South America. They can also be seen in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and many other Latin American countries. It is found from northern Nicaragua to southern Uruguay and this bird can also be seen in Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Antilles.
Habitat Of Potoo
The natural habitat of Potoo is forests, savannas, mangroves etc. and apart from this, their place is Central and South America. This peculiar bird can be found in every Central and South American country and on the Caribbean islands. The largest number of these birds is in the Amazon, which is five of its seven species.
How Do Potoo Look Like
These birds have a distinct black, white, gray and red-brown plumage in appearance. Apart from this, they have a short beak, wide mouth and large yellow eyes with black eyes. Their eyes reflect highly artificial light and this bird is a master of camouflage.
The eyes of Potoo are yellow and large in size. The special thing about these eyes is that Potoo can see even with their eyes closed. This means that this bird can feel the movements around them. Read-Kangaroo Features And Information With Pictures
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What Do Potoo Eat
The color of Potoo is light brown and brown. Potoo eat flying insects, beetles, moths, grasshoppers and termites in their food and these birds are hunted by monkeys, eagles etc.
Potoo mostly hunts flying insects at night. The special thing about them is that their mouth is wide due to which they easily prey on beetles, moths, termites. You have been told earlier that Potoo has large eyes, which enable them to see moths and other flying insects in the dark.
Not only this, Potoo can see predators during the day from their camouflaged position. At night, Potoo can easily see their prey. Potoo can see insects with their huge eyes because they have excellent night vision.
Size And Weight Of Potoo
The smallest size of the Potoo species in their species is named Rufous Potoo and it is the smallest bird of its species. Their length is about 8 to 10 inches and weight is about 46 to 58 grams.
Great Potoo is the largest bird of its species in the Potoo species. The length of Great Potoo is about 18 to 23 inches and weight is about 360 grams to 650 grams. It looks light brown in color and rusty like iron.
How Fast Can Potoo Fly
Talking about the flying of Potoo, it can fly at a moderate speed and it mostly does not fly during the day. The flight of Potoo is fast and direct and it methodically beats the air with its large wings.
How Do Potoo Communicate
The voice of a Potoo bird is peculiar. Their voice gradually falls in pitch and volume. This strange sound is a sad 'BO-OU, BO-OU, BO-OU, BO-OU, BO-OU, BO-OU'.
The potoo bird when caught makes a croaking sound like a crow and it is this potoo's sound that helps ornithologists to locate them.
But suddenly hearing a potoo's sound in the jungle is an eerie feeling. It is believed that the sound of the Great Potoo is not for the faint hearted and it scares people especially if they are not used to hearing it.
Potoo Nests And Eggs
Common Potoos are monogamous and stay with the same partner throughout their lives. A unique feature about these peculiar birds is that they do not build a nest to lay their eggs. Instead of building their nests, Potoos lay eggs on broken parts of trees.
During breeding, the female Potoo lays a single egg in a tree branch, tree trunk or hollow. The number of eggs of Potoo is one. The eggs of these birds are white in color and have brown spots. These eggs are incubated by the male and female for 30 to 35 days.
How many Potoo are there in the world
According to the International Conservation of Nature, the conservation status of Potoo is of least concern, which means that the population of Potoo is not in any immediate danger.
But currently this bird species is facing habitat loss which can cause problems for the population of Potoo. Read- Baltimore Oriole Facts And Information With Picture
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How Long Do Potoo Live
Very little information is available about the natural history of most of these species. Apart from this, their lifespan is not fully known and could potentially be 12-14 years.
There Are About 7 Species Of Potoo
There are about 7 species of potoo bird which include Rufous Potoo, Great Potoo, Long-tailed Potoo, White-winged Potoo, Andean Potoo, Common Potoo, and Northern Potoo. Let us know them closely one by one.
Rufous Potoo
Rufous Potoo : It is the smallest bird of its species and Rufous Potoo is named due to their reddish-brown color. Apart from this, the name Rufous refers to the color of rusty or oxidized iron.
The Latin name of Rufous Potoo is Nyctibius bracteatus and Rufous Potoo is found in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guyana, Colombia, French Guiana.
The length of Rufous Potoo is about 8 to 10 inches and weighs about 46 to 58 grams. Rufous Potoo eat butterflies, beetles, locusts, grasshoppers etc. in their food.
Until the end of the twentieth century, the Rufous Potoo was a mystery to the observers. Because Rufous Potoo were rarely seen in the forests. No one knew what Rufous Potoo looked like, where Rufous Potoo made their nests. Because the rust-like color of iron camouflaged them on the trees.
Great Potoo
Great Potoo : The Latin name of the Great Potoo is Nyctibius grandis and it is seen in Central and South America (from southern Mexico to southeastern Brazil). The length of the Great Potoo is about 18 to 23 inches and the weight is about 360 grams to 650 grams.
Great Potoo eats beetles, katydids, bats and shad as their main food. Great Potoo is the largest bird of its species and has an impressive wingspan that can be about 2 times larger than their body.
Not only this, the Great Potoo looks different from its species due to its large size. Apart from this, you can also see different colors in it. Other potoos of their species are brown and red in color while the Great Potoo can be brown, beige, burgundy or spotted with a mixture of colors.
The size of the eyes of the Great Potoo is also quite large. Which is one of the most well-researched species among the potoo species. From which we have got a lot of information about their diet, reproduction and hunting habits.
Long-Tailed Potoo
Long-tailed Potoo : The Latin name of long-tailed potoo is Nyctibius aethereus and long-tailed potoo is found in the western Amazon basin (Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia).
The length of long-tailed potoo is about 18 to 20 inches and weight is about 280 grams to 447 grams. Long-tailed potoo eats moths, butterflies, beetles, flying termites in their main food. Apart from this, long-tailed potoo is a shy bird, which does not like to be seen by humans.
There were 3 subspecies of long-tailed potoo, named Nyctibius aetherius aetherius, Nyctibius aetherius chocoensis, Nyctibius aetherius longicaudatus etc. But it looks the same and their behavior is similar. Apart from this, this species is in different groups in the continent.
White-Winged Potoo
White-winged Potoo : The Latin name of the white-winged potoo is Nyctibius leucopterus and the white-winged potoo is found in Brazil, Guyana, Peru, French Guiana.
The length of the white-winged potoo is about 9 to 11 inches and the weight is about 77 grams to 85 grams. The main diet of the white-winged potoo is unknown. But it is believed that it probably eats insects. White-winged potoos are brown birds with white spots on their wings.
The eyes of the white-winged potoo are yellow which makes them different from their species. The white-winged potoo is rarely seen during the day. Most pictures of the white-winged potoo show a small, angry bird with yellow eyes that glow like headlights in the dark.
Not much information is available about their special breed of white-winged potoo. So we assume that the white-winged potoo will have the same breeding, hunting, habitat, food as other species, but we cannot be sure.
Andean Potoo
Andean Potoo : The Latin name of Andean Potoo is Nyctibius maculosus and Andean Potoo is found in the Andes Mountains (Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia).
The length of Andean Potoo is about 13 to 15 inches and the weight is about 145 grams to 195 grams. Andean Potoo eat large insects like beetles and grasshoppers in their main food.
Andean Potoo is the most different among their species and like other species, their habitat is also different. Andean Potoo live only in the Andes Mountains. Their breeding, what is their diet, how they hide themselves from predators, do they have any behavior like their species, all this is not known.
The only thing we can know is that the Andean Potoo has a brown body with white, black, gray and brown colors.
Common Potoo
Common Potoo : The Latin name of the common potoo is Nyctibius griseus and the common potoo is found in Central and South America (from northern Nicaragua to southern Uruguay).
The length of the common potoo is about 14 to 16 inches and the weight is about 107 grams to 190 grams. Common potoo eats moths, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, flying insects in their main food.
The common potoo is a master of camouflage and apart from this, due to the structure and colors of their body on the branches of the trees, they get so mixed as if a picture has been drawn, which becomes very difficult to see. The common potoo sits on the branches of the trees in such a way that it is a broken part of the tree. There are also two subspecies of the common potoo.
Northern Potoo
Northern Potoo : The Latin name of the Northern Potoo is Nyctibius jamaicensis and the Northern Potoo is found in Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Hispaniola.
Apart from this, the Northern Potoo can be seen almost everywhere in Central and South America including Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The length of the Northern Potoo is about 15 to 18 inches and the weight is about 253 grams to 257 grams. The Northern Potoo eats moths, beetles, butterflies etc. in their main food. The Northern Potoo is more in Central America than in South America and apart from this, they have five different subspecies.
The color of the Northern Potoo is mostly dark with different shades of brown, black, white and gray and apart from this it can be identified by a black stripe.
Potoo Facts For Kids
1. Where do Potoo birds live?
Potu birds are found in Central America and South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and many other Latin American countries. Potoo is found from northern Nicaragua to southern Uruguay and these birds can also be found in Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Antilles.
2. Are potoo birds rare?
Their population is not in any immediate danger. But this bird species is facing habitat loss which can cause problems for the potoo population.
3. How many species of potoo birds are there?
There are about 7 species of potoo birds. Rufous potoo, great potoo, long-tailed potoo, white-winged potoo, Andean potoo, common potoo, and northern potoo.
4. What do potoo birds eat?
Potoo hunts flying insects at night. They have a wide mouth due to which beetles, moths, termites easily become their prey. Potoos have large eyes, which enable them to see moths and other flying insects in the dark.
5. How big is a Potoo bird?
The smallest size of the Potoo species is Rufous Potoo. It is the smallest bird of its species. Their length is about 8 to 10 inches and weight is about 46 to 58 grams. The Great Potoo is the largest bird of its species. The length of the Great Potoo is about 18 to 23 inches and the weight is about 360 grams to 650 grams.
6. What does a Potoo bird look like?
This bird has a distinct black, white, grey and reddish-brown plumage. It has a short beak, wide mouth and large yellow eyes with black eyelashes. The eyes reflect highly artificial light. It is a master of camouflage.
7. How long does a Potoo bird live?
Their life span is not fully known. It can potentially be 12-14 years.
8. What is the flying speed of a Potoo bird?
The Potoo can fly at a moderate speed and mostly does not fly during the day. Their flight is fast and direct and it methodically beats the air with its large wings.
9. Where do Potoo birds make their nests?
A unique feature about these birds is that they do not make nests to lay their eggs. Potoo pairs lay eggs on broken parts of trees instead of making nests.
10. How many eggs do Potoo birds lay?
During breeding season, the female potoo lays a single egg in a tree branch, tree trunk, or hollow.