Caprimulgids

Potoos, or tree-nighthawks, are five species of birds that comprise the family Nyctibiidae. Potoos occur in open forests from southern Mexico and the West Indies to northern Argentina and Paraguay.

Potoos have long, pointed wings and a long tail. These birds have weak legs and feet, but long claws, and they perch in an upright, almost-invisible stance on tree limbs. Potoos are solitary birds, feeding nocturnally on insects in flycatcher-fashion, by making short sallies from a prominent perch. Potoos lay a single egg on a cup-like cavity atop a broken stub of a dead branch.

The common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) is a widespread species, occurring from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. The great potoo (N. grandis) occurs widely in forests of Central and northern South America.