Bird Guide

Common Potoo vs Great Potoo

Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus)

Common Potoo

Nyctibius griseus

Medium172 gForest

Common potoos are 34–38 cm (13–15 in) long with mottled red-brown, white, black, and grey cryptic plumage. This disruptive coloration allows the potoo to camouflage into branches. The sexes appear similar, and cannot be distinguished upon observation. The eyes can appear as giant black dots with a small yellow ring, or as giant yellow irises with small pupils due to voluntary pupil constriction. The potoo has two or three slits in the eyelid so that it can see when the eyelids are closed; these notches are always open.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Common Potoo
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: km 11.6 Narupa-Loreto road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo · Public domain
Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis)

Great Potoo

Nyctibius grandis

Large547 gForest

The great potoo has a large head in relation to its body, large, dark brown eyes, and a short but broad beak. Their wings are elliptical in shape, their tail is elongated, and their feathers are white, gray, black, and burgundy. The tail colors match with that of the rest of the body, with the exception of white bars that can be seen going across the tail laterally. Range in Mass: 360 to 650 g (13 to 23 oz) Range in Length: 480 to 600 mm (19 to 24 in) Range in wingspan: 700 to 804 mm (27.6 to 31.7 in) Average Wingspan: 734.8 mm (28.93 in)

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Great Potoo
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: Napo Galeras, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Common Potoo and Great Potoo.