Nesting Great Potoo with young

Although June can be a fairly quiet time as far as birds go - most species are nesting at this time and not singing or showing themselves much - it is precisely the nesting that makes it a very exciting time at Las Brisas Nature Reserve. One of the more interesting findings this year was a nesting Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis). This species does not build a nest, rather it balances the single white egg on an indentation or the tip of a broken snag. We found a pair had decided to nest on a rather low branch only 8m above the ground, which offers a great opportunity for studying this species' breeding behavior. In the photographs you can see the young potoo (about half grown) holding on to the same branch where it hatched out of the egg! Taking advantage of the fact that this nestling is fairly low, we have set up a motion activated camera nearby to learn more about its behavior, so stay tuned for more photos!

- Ernesto Carman

Photo Credits: Andrew Russell and Donald Jiménez

#birds #birdwatching #nesting