#nyctibiiformes

[herpsandbirds]

Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus), mother and chick, family Nyctibiidae, order Nyctibiiformes, Ecuador

Potoos used to be in the same order as nightjars, but are now placed in their own order.

photograph by Dennis Binda

[best-bird-tournament]

Potoo (Nyctibiiformes) order / Nyctibiidae family

Which is the best bird?

Rufous potoo

Long-tailed potoo

Northern potoo

Andean potoo

White-winged potoo

Common potoo

Great potoo

Voting ended onFeb 2

This order and family contain just seven extant species in two genera (Nyctibius and Phyllaemulor).

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Potoo, perhaps? They look like muppets.

Have you seen a potoo (Family: Nyctibiidae)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onJul 11, 2025

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Nyctibiiformes

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next strisorean bird order is the Nyctibiiformes, commonly called “potoos”. This order consists of one family, Nyctibiidae, containing 7 species within 2 genera.

Potoos are known for their large, sometimes bright yellow eyes, their broad mouths, and short bills. As members of the clade Strisores, they have a body resembling nightjars, though they are larger. They have proportionally large heads for their body size and long wings and tails. Like nightjars, they are nocturnal insectivores which spend their day sleeping perched on tree stumps camouflaged to look like part of the stump. Unlike nightjars, they lack rictal bristles around their mouth. Potoos hunt from a perch, watching for insects and then darting after them, then returning to their perch. They mainly eat flying beetles, but will also eat moths, grasshoppers, and termites, and even small birds. They live only within Central and South America.

Potoos lay a single spotted egg directly on top of a stump. They are monogamous and both parents incubate the egg and raise their chick. One parent, often the male, incubates the egg during the day, while the duties are shared during the night. The chick hatches about one month after laying and the nestling phase is two months. The plumage of nestling potoos is white and once they are too large to hide under their parents they adopt the same frozen, camouflaged position as their parents, resembling clumps of fungus.

Strisores have a well-represented fossil record, with fossils of most major strisorean lineages known from the Paleogene. Strisores evolved in the Eocene, with the two main extant lineages of separating about 60–55 million years ago. At around 40 mya, the common ancestors of Caprimulgidae and Nyctibiidae diverged from those of the oilbird and frogmouths.

Do you have a favorite in Nyctibiiformes?

One or more of my favorite animals is in Nyctibiiformes

I love at least one or more of these animals

I like at least one or more of these animals

I am neutral about all of these animals

I dislike all of these animals

Voting ended onApr 26, 2025

Propaganda under the cut:

Potoos are sometimes called “Poor-me-ones”, after the sound of their haunting calls.

While today potoos live only in Central and South America, fossil evidence indicates that they also inhabited Europe during the Paleogene.

The bright yellow, reflective eyes of potoos could be conspicuous to potential predators during the day, so they have unusual slits in their eyelids, which allow them to sense movement even when their eyes are closed.

Should a potoo sense potential danger it will adopt a "freeze" position with its feathers flattened, perfectly camouflaged against its chosen perch. The transition between perching and the freeze position is gradual and hardly perceptible to the observer.

(source)

If the freeze position is not affective, the potoo will then attempt to surprise and intimidate a predator by opening its eyes and beak wide while vocalizing, giving it a chance to fly out of reach (image 3).

[birdblues]

Common Potoo

[camouflage-birds]

Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus)

© Nicolás Bejarano

[thats-a-nice-nest]

Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus)

© Nicolás Bejarano

[herpsandbirds]

Andean Potoo (Nyctibius maculosus), family Nyctibiidae, order Nyctibiiformes, Peru

Potoos used to be in the same order as nightjars, but are now placed in their own order.

photograph by Steve Sánchez Calle