Rufous potoo | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Order: | Nyctibiiformes |
Family: | Nyctibiidae |
Subfamily: | Nyctibiinae |
Genus: | Phyllaemulor Costa, Whitney, Braun, M, White, Silveira & Cleere, 2018 |
Species: | P. bracteatus |
Binomial name | |
Phyllaemulor bracteatus (Gould, 1846) | |
Synonyms | |
Nyctibius bracteatusGould, 1846 |
The rufous potoo (Phyllaemulor bracteatus) is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. [2] It is the only member of the genus Phyllaemulor. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. [3]
A 2009 publication suggested that the rufous potoo differed enough in cranial structure and genetic divergence from other potoos (in the genus Nyctibius ) that it deserved to be in its own genus, Phyllaemulor. [4] This genus was officially described by Costa et al. in 2018. [5] As of 2022, the BirdLife International Handbook of the Birds of the World, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS-SACC) have followed in reclassified it into Phyllaemulor. The Clements taxonomy retains it in genus Nyctibius. [6] [7] [8]
The rufous potoo is 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) long and weighs 46 to 58 g (1.6 to 2.0 oz). The rufous potoo is the smallest member of its family, and the most unusually colored. It is overall a deep orange-red with large white spots; the color is paler on the throat. The spots on the upper belly have a thin black border and the tail has darker bars. It has long bristles in the loral region. It resembles a dead leaf, an impression heightened by its vertical posture on a roost, where it gently sways. [9]
The rufous potoo is found in Amazonia from Venezuela south to Peru and east into Brazil, French Guiana, and Guyana. The AOS-SACC also records it as "Hypothetical" in Bolivia. It is known only from scattered locations though it probably occurs more widely than them. It primarily inhabits forests on nutrient-poor soils such as those with high sand content and those in blackwater regions. It is mostly found in the under- and mid-stories of both primary and mature secondary terra firme forest. It also occurs in swampy palm forests of the Campinarana. In elevation it ranges only as high as 550 m (1,800 ft). [3] [9]
The rufous potoo forages by sallying from a perch to capture flying insects, and usually returns to the same perch. It feeds on insects of at least five orders. [9]
The rufous potoo's nesting season apparently spans from September to possibly February. Very few nests are known. The "nest" is unusual: The bird lays its single egg on top of a broken stub. [9]
The rufous potoo's song is "a soft, rapidly descending series of roughly 10–15 notes: “bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu..." or "whooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, tooo, toot" that resembles the songs of some small owls. It mostly, and perhaps exclusively, sings during a few days around the full moon. It also makes "wup" or "urt" calls. [9]
The IUCN has assessed the rufous potoo as being of Least Concern, though its population is not known and is believed to be decreasing. [1] It is "[p]robably not seriously threatened as long as extensive areas of Amazonian forest remain intact". [9]
Potoos 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.
Nyctibius is a genus of potoos, nocturnal birds in the family Nyctibiidae.
The royal flycatchers are a genus, Onychorhynchus, of passerine birds that the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) places in the family Tityridae.
The ochraceous wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is a resident breeding species in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.
The grey-headed dove (Leptotila plumbeiceps) is a large New World dove. It is found from eastern Mexico to Colombia.
The purple-throated woodstar is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
The rufous-thighed kite is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found regularly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, and Suriname and as a vagrant in Colombia, French Guiana, and Venezuela.
The rufous nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The rufous-banded owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Yungas screech owl, also known as montane forest screech-owl and Hoy's screech owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.
The long-tailed potoo is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The white-winged potoo is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The Andean potoo is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Chaco sparrow, formerly known as the stripe-capped sparrow, is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It is found in Argentina and Paraguay.
The Peruvian wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The tawny-faced gnatwren or half-collared gnatwren is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae, the gnatcatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
The Santa Marta wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The northern potoo is a nocturnal bird belonging to the potoo family, Nyctibiidae. It is found from Mexico south to Costa Rica, and on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the common potoo but is now usually treated as a separate species based on differences in vocalizations.
The Chaco puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The Yungas sparrow is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae endemic to the Southern Andean Yungas of southeastern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. It was formerly considered a subspecies of what was then called the stripe-capped sparrow.