Common Potoo ( Nyctibius griseus )

37cm
It is a unique bird that can only be confused with other Potoos, from which it differs by being mostly gray.

Not like any other bird, the Potoo is one of the best camouflaged birds on earth. It spends the whole day quietly perched on a carefully chosen branch in a way it blends with the substrate as the bird seems to be part of the tree. The large orange eyes, which could be a flaw for the camouflage are wisely covered by eyelids with a tiny fold in the middle, from which the bird can see the surroundings as the pupil is exposed while the orange iris is hidden.
In the night the bird leaves its perch flying as a falcon in hunt for flying insects that it catches with its huge mouth, and there lies another contradiction, as this is at the same a bird with one of the proportionally largest mouths and smallest beaks.
Throughout its range this is a bird surrounded by tales and mysticism, not only for the singleness of its appearance, but also for the behavior and for the song, which reminds a flute and is different from any other bird’s song.
Potoos do not build nests and the single egg is simply laid over a perch. The female spends all day long sat over the egg, just leaving it at night in order to look for food. The nestling spends its days hidden by the mother until the camouflaged feathers grow.