Potoo

This article is about the bird family. For the primate, see Potto. For the racehorse, see Potoooooooo. For uses of Potu, see Potu.

Potoo
Temporal range: Middle Eocene to present
48–0 Ma
Northern potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Clade: Vanescaves
Order: Nyctibiiformes
Yuri et al., 2013[1]
Family: Nyctibiidae
Chenu & des Murs, 1853
Type species
Nyctibius grandis (great potoo)
Genera
Global range (In red)

Potoos (family Nyctibiidae) are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with the nightjars in the order Caprimulgiformes but is now placed in a separate order, Nyctibiiformes. There are seven species in two genera in tropical Central and South America. Fossil evidence indicates that they also inhabited Europe during the Paleogene.

Potoos are nocturnal insectivores that lack the bristles around the mouth found in the true nightjars. They hunt from a perch like a shrike or flycatcher. During the day they perch upright on tree stumps, camouflaged to look like part of the stump. The single spotted egg is laid directly on the top of a stump.

In Argentina, they are known as kakuy or cacuy[2] from Quechua meaning 'to remain'. In Bolivia they are called guajojo, for the sound of their call. In Brazil and Paraguay, they are called urutau from Guaraní guyra 'bird' and tau 'ghost'.[3]

  1. ^ Yuri, T.; Kimball, R.T.; Harshman, J.; Bowie, R.C.K.; Braun, M.J.; Chojnowski, J.L.; Han, K.-L.; Hackett, S.J.; Huddleston, C.J.; Moore, W.S.; Reddy, S.; Sheldon, F.H.; Steadman, D.W.; Witt, C.C.; Braun, E.L. (2013). "Parsimony and model-based analyses of indels in avian nuclear genes reveal congruent and incongruent phylogenetic signals". Biology. 2 (1): 419–444. doi:10.3390/biology2010419. PMC 4009869. PMID 24832669.
  2. ^ "cacuy". Diccionario de la lengua española. Real Academia Española. Retrieved 6 Jun 2021.
  3. ^ Marcondes, Rafael Sobra (4 Aug 2012). "Bichos do Brasil: urutaus e mães-sa-lua". Caapora (in Portuguese). State University of Campinas. Retrieved 21 December 2022.