Birds of Guatemala: Two Species of Nyctibiu, Potoo, inhabit the Mayan Area
So far these birds have not been noticed in Mayan art nor in Mayan mythology. Nonetheless, the bird has such a comical appearance that it is worth learning about.
There are two species of potoo:
- Nyctibius griseus, Common Potoo
- Nyctibius jamaicensis, Northern Potoo
Nyctibius jamaicensis is listed for Palenque (Patten et al: 2011: 524).
Both species of potoo are present in Belize (Jones 2004: 129). But only the Common Potoo, Nyctibius griseus, is listed for Chiapas (del Toro 1980: 98 and Lamina 36, Fig. 1). The Common Potoo is listed for Tikal, Peten (Smithe 1966: 86-88).
No potoo is listed for Copan Ruinas, Honduras, though since a potoo is a master at camouflage, perhaps simply they have not yet been noticed.
Bibliography of Potoo birds in Mesoamerica
- 1980
- Las aves de Chiapas. Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas. 272 pages.
- 1990
- New and noteworthy bird records from Petén, Guatemala, including Tikal National Park
Common Potoo bird appears in page 84
Free download:
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/Beavers%20et%20al.%201991.pdf
- 2000
- A Biological Assessment of Laguna del Tigre National Park, Petén, Guatemala. Conservation International Centro para la ciencia de biodiversidad aplicada Departamento de biología de conservación 2501 M Street, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC.
Free download:
www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian_Barrientos/publication/303882937_An_
ichthyological_survey_of_Laguna_del_Tigre_National_Park_Peten_Guatemala/links/
575aa31b08aed884620d8377/An-ichthyological-survey-of-Laguna-del-Tigre-National
-Park-Peten-Guatemala.pdf#page=58
- n.d.
- Listado ecológico de las aves de la región caribeña de Guatemala (Departamento de Izabal). FUDAECO.
Available online:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280632715_LISTADO_ECOLOGICO_DE_
LAS_AVES_DE_LA_REGION_CARIBENA_DE_GUATEMALA_DEPARTAMENTO
_DE_IZABAL
- 2005
- Evaluación de la Avifauna en las partes que formarán el Área protegida Trinacional de Montecristo en Territorio Guatemalteco y Hondureño. SalvaNATURA.
Free download:
www.researchgate.net/profile/Knut_Eisermann/publication/263162743_Evaluacion_de
_la_avifauna_en_las_partes_que_formaran_el_area_protegida_trinacional_de_Montecristo
_en_territorio_guatemalteco_y_hondureno_Anexo_5_In_Komar_O_Borjas_G_Cruz_G_A_
Eisermann_K_Herrera_N_Lina/links/5c87e64d299bf14e7e78168a/Evaluacion-de-la-avifauna
-en-las-partes-que-formaran-el-area-protegida-trinacional-de-Montecristo-en-territorio-
guatemalteco-y-hondureno-Anexo-5-In-Komar-O-Borjas-G-Cruz-G-A-Eisermann-K-Herrer.pdf
- 2004
- Birds of Belize. Helm Field Guides. 317 pages.
- 1963
- A Collection of Birds from the Caribbean Lowlands of Guatemala. The Condor. Vol. 65, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 1963), pp. 49-65.
Available online:
www.jstor.org/stable/1365138?seq=1
- 1963
- A Proposed Subspecies of the Great Potoo, Nyctibius grandis (Gmelin). The Auk 80(2): 195-196
Free download:
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v080n02/p0195-p0196.pdf
- 1900
- Descriptions of Thirty New North American Birds, in the Biological Survey Collection. The Auk, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 253-270. Oxford University Press
Nyctibius jamaicensis mexicanus, is mentioned on page 260
Free download:
www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4069117.pdf
- 2011
- An annotated list of the avifauna of Palenque, Chiapas, Lista comentada de la avifauna de Palenque, Chiapas. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 82: 515-537, 2011.
- 1979
- The Great Potoo in Costa Rica. Condor, 81:320-321, The Cooper Ornithological Societ
- 1989
- The new records of birds for Southern Mexico. The Condor 9 I:2 14-215. The Cooper Ornithological Society
Free download:
www.researchgate.net/profile/Jose_Luis_Rangel-Salazar/publication/270924802_
Two_New_Records_of_Birds_for_Southern_Mexico/links/54fdc6440cf2c3f5242549f7.pdf
- 1991
- The great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) as a probable resident in Southern Mexico. Ornitología Neotropical 2: 38-39. The Neotropical Ornithological Society.
- 1970
- Life history of the Common Potoo. Living Bird, 9: 265–280.
Free download:
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/skutch-potoo-1970.pdf
- 1966
- The Birds of Tikal. Natural History Press. 350 pages.
- 2013
- Diversidad de aves en la subcuenca del río Cupatitzio, Michoacán, México. HUITZIL Vol. 14, No. 2, Avifaunas e inventarios.
Available online:
www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/huitzil/v14n2/v14n2a7.pdf
Web Sites on Birds of Mesoamerica
https://hondubirding.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/listado-de-aves-para-la-region-de-copan/
Listado de Aves para la Región de Copán.
www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19670-Nyctibius-jamaicensis
Good photo(s). Good map of where the bird can be found.
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/distribution?p_p_spp=223291
The site itself has only two photos but they have an impressive series of photos from elsewhere on this page; excellent photos.
Pinterest has awesome photos of the Potoo, called Urutau in some countries (Urutau Comun, Nyctibius griseus). If you Google Urutau Comun you get many photos with the bird’s wide mouth totally open. If you Google Nyctibius griseus you get a slightly different set of photos.
First posted June, 2020
