Fascinating Nature
The Ghost Bird
The potoo spends all day pretending to be a broken branch. But it has a few more secrets, and India has its very own master of disguise too!
Did you know?
In parts of South America, the potoo is called urutaú. The name comes from words in Guarani (a local language) meaning 'bird' and 'ghost'. Potoos are also nicknamed 'poor-me-ones' because of their sad-sounding calls.
Shine a torch at a potoo at night and its huge eyes glow back at you! Like many night birds, its eyes reflect light. This glow is called eyeshine.
A fossil skeleton of an ancient potoo relative was dug up in Germany. So, millions of years ago, potoos lived in Europe too, far away from the forests where they live today!
Try this: The Potoo Freeze
Sit up straight on a chair, tilt your chin up like a potoo and freeze. Now ask your family to try to make you smile or move, without touching you. Can you stay as still as a branch for one whole minute? Take turns and find out who is the best potoo in your home!
Go further: India's Own Branch Pretender
India has a bird that plays the potoo's trick. The Sri Lanka frogmouth lives in the rainforests of the Western Ghats, in places such as Kerala and Goa. It is not a potoo, but its feathers look like tree bark and dry leaves. By day, it sits upright and very still, sometimes for hours, looking just like part of a branch. At night, it wakes up to catch flying insects.