Northern Potoo

Only a dedicated bird watcher is likely to spot a Northern Potoo without help, although it is distributed liberally across Central America and the Caribbean in open woodlands and scrub, often near habitations. A guide at Chaa Creek Resort helped me spot two of these birds. He knew exactly where each one would be, as they have favorite branches they perch on, from which they dart out to catch flying insects, moths and beetles. Since the potoo is nocturnal, it sits very still in the daytime to avoid detection, and with its mottled gray/brown/cream feathers and stiff posture, it blends perfectly with dead branches. I’m sure potoos dwell at BIB just waiting for sharp-eyed birders.

My guide suggested I look for a white golf ball when directing my binoculars to one particular branch, and sure enough, there was a white golf ball – only, it was actually the head of a newly-hatched potoo chick, peering out from the breast feathers of its parent. I watched, enchanted, for a long time and later sketched and painted the potoo you see above.  

This is a big bird, fifteen to eighteen inches from beak tip to tail tip. It hides in plain sight by perching parallel with a branch, stretching its head out and up in imitation of a broken-off branch. It’s pretty impressive camouflage, but only if you aren’t sitting with a white golf ball.

A potoo nest barely qualifies as a nest, since it’s generally just the rotted out dip where a small branch has broken off a larger branch. No grass, twigs or feathers are added to soften it. Both male and female potoo incubate the egg for a month, then the baby crouches there for two more months guarded by its parents until it is ready to fly.

A potoo has very short legs, tiny feet and bright yellow bug-eyes that reflect red at night. Most astonishing, though, is its huge mouth, which looks tiny until it gapes open to engulf large insects. Check out that huge mouth (and other amazing potoo things) here : 

 Northern Potoo calls are hoarse and guttural – “Waaaaaaaah, wahk, wahk, wahk, wahk.”   You can hear a recording here (click on “Listen” near the right side of the page).