POTOOS   -   NYCTIBIIDAE


Long-tailed Potoo - Nyctibius aethereus Long-tailed Potoo - Nyctibius aethereus
Long-tailed Potoo
Nyctibius aethereus longicaudatus
Napo Wildlife Center, Orellana province, Ecuador.
This bird is probably nesting. Potoos don't build nests, they deposit their eggs in natural hollows on branches, such as vertically-facing knotholes.
Long-tailed Potoo
Nyctibius aethereus longicaudatus
Floresta Amazonica hotel, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
A different bird at a different angle, showing the white shoulder patch well. We accidentally flushed it off its roost in the forest patch behind the hotel.


Common Potoo - Nyctibius griseus
Northern Potoo - Nyctibius jamaicensis
Common Potoo
Nyctibius griseus griseus
Amazonia Lodge, Madre de Dios department, Peru.
Another nesting bird, probably incubating eggs.
Northern Potoo
Nyctibius jamaicensis lambi
San Blas, Nayarit state, Mexico.
This bird is brooding one rather large nestling, making it appear far broader than it really is. That's a loose feather sticking up from its head, not an ear tuft.


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Common Potoo
Nyctibius griseus panamensis
Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha province, Ecuador.
A recently-fledged juvenile. This is at about 2300 m, and unusually high elevation for this species.


Andean Potoo - Nyctibius maculosus
Rufous Potoo - Nyctibius bracteatus
Andean Potoo
Nyctibius maculosus
Guacamayos ridge, Napo province, Ecuador.
This was a tough bird to digiscope in the beam of a dying spotlight. It was the first (and to date only) time I've seen this rare nightbird.
Rufous Potoo
Nyctibius bracteatus
Gareno Lodge, Orellana province, Ecaudor.
Arguably the most attractive of the family. They are amazingly common around Gareno, considering they seem to be totally absent from most of the Amazon lodges in Ecuador.









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