Photographer
Agency Minden Pictures
IF YOU had to look twice, then the trick has worked. This common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) was spotted in Utr铆a National Natural Park, Colombia, using its chief defence against predators: disguising itself as a branch.
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During the day, the bird perches motionless on a tree for long periods, with both parents taking turns to incubate a single egg. Their posture, plus their mottled brown and grey plumage, makes the perfect camouflage.
As it is a nocturnal bird, the potoo has huge yellow eyes. In daylight, it must peer through narrow slits to watch out for potential threats so that its eyes don鈥檛 give the game away. At dusk, however, it transforms into a voracious hunter of moths and flying beetles.
The common potoo is found in woodlands and savannah in Central and South America, although its (habitat is in decline. In Peru, its haunting song, a mournful series of descending notes, is said to evoke a lost child calling for its mother.
