Potoos (Nyctibiidae)

 

The Nyctibiidae consists of one genus, Nyctibius, and 7 species found in Central and South America, from Mexico to northern Argentina, and three Caribbean islands (Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Tobago). Most potoos inhabit humid tropical forests, although several species also occur in dry forests and savanna. They have large heads with a massive broad bill and large eyes, long wings and tails. The legs and feet are weak and used only for perching. Their plumage is cryptic, and potoos rely on camouflage for protection during the day, resembling a broken brunch when perched. The clutch contains only one egg laid in a depression in a branch or atop a rotten stump. Incubation lasts ca. 30 days; the chick spends nearly two months in the nest. Potoos feed on flying insects (beetles, moths, orthopterans, and termites), sallying after them from a perch.

 

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