Common Potoo in the Iberá Wetlands: where and when to see it

The master of camouflage through mimicry. The plumage is grayish-brown with complex markings of black, white and ocher that exactly reproduce the texture of bark and the dead wood of a stump. By day it perches vertically on the tip of a branch or a broken trunk, with eyes half-closed and body rigid, practically impossible to distinguish from the tree. Only its large yellow eyes give it away. It measures 33 to 38 cm. Its nocturnal song, a long descending lament, inspires legends throughout the region.

Behaviour

Nocturnal and insectivorous. It comes out at nightfall to hunt moths and other large insects, catching them in the air with its enormous mouth, which it can open wide. It is the only species of its family regularly present in the Iberá. It builds no nest: it lays a single egg directly on a horizontal branch.

How and when to see it

Nocturnal. By day, if you know where to look, it is possible to see its motionless silhouette at the end of an upright branch. At dusk it can be detected when it begins to sing before it grows fully dark.

Where to see it in the Iberá

The gateways of the Great Iberá Park where common potoo has confirmed presence:

Laguna IberáSee the gateway → GalarzaSee the gateway → CarambolaSee the gateway → CapivariSee the gateway → UguaySee the gateway → San AntonioSee the gateway →

Tours to see it

Verified providers operating at the gateways where common potoo lives. You contact them directly on WhatsApp from the app.

Species profile

Common nameCommon Potoo
Scientific nameNyctibius griseus
GroupBird
StatusNative

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