Today I Learned

The incredible common potoo isn’t much to look at -- so much so that you’ll struggle to see it at all! In a bold display of camouflage and mimicry, this bird pretends to be a broken tree branch. To do so, it poses absolutely still, bravely evading predators in plain view of them. The potoo in this video is particularly fearless -- switch the quality up to HD and watch to find out why she’s so determined not to be scared away from her perch. Although you might not see them, the common potoo is, indeed, common in at least parts of its range. This rage extends from Nicaragua in Central America, south to Argentina. Six other species of potoo are known of, all generally similar in appearance and all performing the same posturing cryptic behaviour. Potoos have large eyes and a huge mouth -- features they share with the closely related nightjars. As mentioned in the video, potoos squint their eyes in order to not expose their bright yellow irises and give the game away while keeping track of potential predators.