Nyctibius grandis
Silhouette: Dominic Sherony (photo) and Albertonykus (silhouette) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The great potoo or grand potoo (Nyctibius grandis) is the largest potoo species and is widely distributed in Central and South America. Much like owls, this species is nocturnal. It preys on large insects and small vertebrates, which it captures in sallies from high perches.
The great potoo is best known for its distinctive moaning growl, which echoes through the Neotropical night. The great potoo was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Lineus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the nightjar like species in the genus Caprimulgus and coined the binomial name Caprimulgus grandis. The great potoo is now one of the seven potoos placed in the genus Nyctibius that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The genus name is from Ancient Greek nuktibios meaning "night-living", from nux "night" and bios "life". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The great potoo has a large head in relation to its body, large, dark brown eyes, and a short but broad beak. Their wings are elliptical in shape, their tail is elongated,... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Complejo Turistico de Quistococha | 🇵🇪 Peru |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Potoo sighting in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 118th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great Potoo in Pico Bonito National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–September and December, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Potoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
7th of 23
Of the 23 parks where we can rate Great Potoo sightings, Pico Bonito National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 20%), Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 10%) and Manu National Park (Peru, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Potoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Pico Bonito National Park (83 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
