The rufous potoo (''Phyllaemulor bracteatus'') is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Phyllaemulor''. It is found in Brazil,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, Peru, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

A 2009 publication suggested that the rufous potoo differed enough in cranial structure and genetic divergence from other potoos (in the genus ''

Nyctibius Bird genera ''Nyctibius'' is a genus of potoos, nocturnal birds in the family Nyctibiidae. Etymology The genus ''Nyctibius'' was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, C ...

'') that it deserved to be in its own genus, ''Phyllaemulor''. This genus was officially described by Costa ''et al.'' in 2018. As of 2022, the

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

''Handbook of the Birds of the World'', the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS-SACC) have followed in reclassified it into ''Phyllaemulor''. The Clements taxonomy retains it in genus ''Nyctibius''.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021 The rufous potoo is monotypic.

Description

The rufous potoo is long and weighs . 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 the

loral Loral may refer to: * Loral Corporation, contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation * Loral Space & Communications, satellite communications company * Loral GZ-22, a non-rigid airship * ...

region. It resembles a dead leaf, an impression heightened by its vertical posture on a roost, where it gently sways.Cohn-Haft, M. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Rufous Potoo (''Nyctibius bracteatus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rufpot1.01 retrieved October 17, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The rufous potoo is found in

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

from Venezuela south to Peru and east into Brazil, French Guiana, and Guyana. The AOS-SACC also records it as "Hypothetical" in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. 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 in

blackwater Blackwater or Black Water may refer to: Health and ecology * Blackwater (coal), liquid waste from coal preparation * Blackwater (waste), wastewater containing feces, urine, and flushwater from flush toilets * Blackwater fever, an acute kidney disea ...

regions. It is mostly found in the under- and mid-stories of both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and mature

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

terra firme Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

'' forest. It also occurs in swampy palm forests of the

Campinarana Campinarana (NT0158, ), also called Rio Negro Campinarana, is a neotropical ecoregion in the Amazon biome of the north west of Brazil and the east of Colombia that contains vegetation adapted to extremely poor soil. It includes savanna, scrub an ...

. In elevation it ranges only as high as .

Behavior

Feeding

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 five

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Breeding

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.

Vocalization

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.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the rufous potoo as being of Least Concern, though its population is not known and is believed to be decreasing. It is " obably not seriously threatened as long as extensive areas of Amazonian forest remain intact".

References

External links

Photos, videos and observations
at Cornell Lab of Ornithologys Birds of the World *
Photo
mindobirds.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q1259483

rufous potoo The rufous potoo (''Phyllaemulor bracteatus'') is a species of bird in the family Nyctibiidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Phyllaemulor''. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.Re ...

Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Ecuadorian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Amazon Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Guianas

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN