| Rufous potoo | |
|---|---|
 | |
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, ND, Silveira & Cleere, 2017 |
| Species: | P. bracteatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllaemulor bracteatus (Gould, 1846) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Nyctibius bracteatusGould, 1846 | |
Therufous potoo (Phyllaemulor bracteatus) is a species ofbird in the familyNyctibiidae.[2] It is the only member of the genusPhyllaemulor. It is found inBrazil,Colombia,Ecuador,French Guiana, SurinameGuyana,Peru, andVenezuela.[3]
A 2009 publication suggested that the rufous potoo differed enough in cranial structure and genetic divergence from other potoos (in the genusNyctibius) that it deserved to be in its own genus,Phyllaemulor.[4] This genus was officially described by Costaet al. in 2017.[5] As of 2022, theBirdLife InternationalHandbook of the Birds of the World, theInternational Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the South American Classification Committee of theAmerican Ornithological Society (AOS-SACC) have followed in reclassified it intoPhyllaemulor. TheClements taxonomy retains it in genusNyctibius.[6][7][8]
The rufous potoo ismonotypic.[2]
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 theloral 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 inAmazonia from Venezuela south to Peru and east into Brazil, French Guiana, and Guyana. The AOS-SACC also records it as "Hypothetical" inBolivia. 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 inblackwater regions. It is mostly found in the under- and mid-stories of bothprimary and maturesecondaryterra firme forest. It also occurs in swampy palm forests of theCampinarana. 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 fiveorders.[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]
| Songs and calls |
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]
TheIUCN 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]
