POTOOS   -   NYCTIBIIDAE

Great Potoo Nyctibius grandis Fazenda Santa Tereza (Pantanal Wildlife Center), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Potoos are well-known for their ability to blend in with the tree that they are sleeping on. This Great Potoo, at any kind of distance, looked just like a broken branch. (S6)

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. (D2)		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. (D3)

Common Potoo Nyctibius griseus griseus Amazonia Lodge, Madre de Dios department, Peru. Another nesting bird, probably incubating eggs. (D2)		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. (S1)

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. (D1)

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 the only) time I've seen this scarce nightbird. (D3)		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 other Amazon lodges in Ecuador. (S3)