Oilbird | Steatornithiformes

Vetzwaluwen | Guácharo

This order consists of a single family with a single species, the Oilbird, a nocturnal fruit-eater of northern South America and Trinidad. It belongs to the large group of relatives that also includes the potoos, nightjars, swifts and hummingbirds, but occupies a separate, old branch within it. What sets the order apart is the combination of a nocturnal way of life with a diet of fruit: the birds fly out to the forest at night and pluck fruit from palms, laurels and other trees, swallowing it whole; the seeds are regurgitated later, so that the species disperses seeds over long distances. They roost and breed in colonies in caves, where they find their way in total darkness by means of audible clicks, a form of echolocation known from only a few birds. In the region the order occurs only on Trinidad, in caves in the mountains of the north of the island and in sea caves along the coast and on the small islands off it.