Birds · Nyctibiiformes · Nyctibiidae

Great Potoo

Nyctibius grandis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The great potoo is the largest of the potoos and an absolute master of camouflage. By day it perches upright on the end of a stump or a broken branch, stretches its neck, closes its eyes and becomes completely motionless: its mottled plumage turns it into an extension of the wood, indistinguishable from a few metres away. At night it hunts large insects from a perch, launching out and returning to the same spot. It lays a single egg straight onto a depression in a stump, with no nest at all.

Weight

360 g – 680 g

Size

48 cm – 60 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestFreshwaterInsectivore Nocturnal Solitary Bird Rainforest Freshwater

16countries 68parks

Fun facts

GeneralBy day it perches bolt upright on a stump and passes for a broken piece of wood.
It can see with its eyes closed: its eyelids have slits that let it detect movement without opening them, so it can watch a predator without breaking its impersonation of a stump.
It builds no nest: it lays a single egg in a crack or depression on the end of a stump and incubates it standing upright, camouflaged, for more than a month.