Potoos | Nyctibiidae

Reuzennachtzwaluwen | Nictibios

Potoos are medium-sized to large nocturnal birds with a tiny bill tip above a gape that spans almost the full width of the head, a large, flattened head and long wings and tail. The plumage is mottled and streaked in grey, brown and black. By day they perch upright on a broken branch or post with the eyes nearly closed; slits in the upper eyelids still allow them to detect movement. At night the large eyes reflect bright orange in the beam of a torch. The food consists of beetles, moths and other flying insects, caught in the air from a perch. The single egg is laid without a nest in a hollow on top of a branch, and the parents take turns incubating. In the region two species occur: the Northern Potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis) on Jamaica and Hispaniola, with a harsh, croaking call, and the Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) on Trinidad and Tobago, whose slowly descending series of whistles carries far at night.