Potoo Bird Characteristics

Potoo Bird Characteristics the Great Potoo bird makes them difficult to spot, even in their natural habitat. The camouflage allows the birds to blend in with their surroundings, and they often sit on the same branch each night, waiting for nocturnal flying insects like moths, katydids, and beetles to pass by. Their specialized hunting style involves sitting silently on a high perch and scanning the canopy for prey, which they then capture in mid-air and return to their perch to consume.

Like many other members of the Caprimulgiformes order, Potoo birds have a wide gape when they open their mouths. This gives them the better vision needed for nighttime hunting, and it also makes them look more like a dead branch or tree bark.

Potoo Bird Characteristics: Nature’s Masters of Stealth and Camouflage

Despite their scary looks, Potoo birds are not aggressive. They prefer to live as loners and are not prone to chasing other birds or humans. They do not even mate frequently, and when they do, they are monogamous.

Their eerie calls are enough to send shivers down your spine, and they are a good warning for potential predators. Their call sounds very much like a moan and is emitted frequently throughout the night, and their other call is a deep croak that will scare away any nearby predators. In addition, their upper eyelids have tiny folds that create slits for eyesight, so they can see with their eyes closed, even while hiding from danger.