Nyctibius jamaicensis
Silhouette: Dominic Sherony (photo) and Albertonykus (silhouette) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The northern potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis) is a nocturnal bird belonging to the potoo family, Nyctibiidae. It is found from Mexico south to Costa Rica, and on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti). It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) but is now usually treated as a separate species based on differences in vocalizations.
The northern potoo was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the nightjar like species in the genus Caprimulgus and coined the binomial name Caprimulgus jamaicensis. Gmelin based his description on earlier accounts of the bird in Jamaica, including Hans Sloane's "Wood owle" published in 1725 and John Latham's "Jamaican goatsucker" published in 1783. The northern 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-feeding", from nux night and bios "life". The specific epithet is from the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 6 | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | |
| 7 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 8 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
No species of the same family or order lives in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Potoo sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 272nd most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Potoo in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Potoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
9th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Northern Potoo sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 20%), Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%) and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Potoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (10 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.
