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(#7) Potoos Are Actually Amazing Co-Parents
When potoos mate, they're actually a really cute little family. The male incubates the egg during the day and both the male and female incubate the egg together at night. Chicks hatch about a month after a single egg is laid and remain in their nesting area for two months. This is actually a pretty long time for land birds.
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(#1) Potoo Birds Are The Subject Of Some Spooky Folklore
The potoo squawks at the moon with sorrowful and eerie cries, resulting in it becoming the subject of sad and spooky folklore. For example, the Shuar people of Ecuador believe the potoo's cry comes from a spirit that is in love with the moon. The legend goes that a man was angry with his wife, but when she tried to apologize, he fled toward the sky.
She tried to follow, but fell back to earth and transformed into a bird. Her husband became the moon, and because she could never reach him again, the wife stays up all night crying over her lost love.
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(#6) Potoos Aren't Players
These weird birds aren't players. They don't mate with a ton of other potoo birds and are typically totally monogamous. It's sort of sweet. Once these wide-eyed, weird looking birds find love, it's forever.
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(#10) Potoo Birds Were Everywhere During Prehistoric Times
Potoos are often found in Central and South America. While they are mostly common in the Amazon Basin, they actually used to live all around Europe. Potoo fossils have been found in France and Germany, proving they were all over the globe during prehistoric times.
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(#8) Potoos Have Seriously Humongous Mouths
The most recognizable trait of Potoos is their insanely gigantic mouths. These birds have huge oral orifices despite having tiny beaks, because they open their mouths like a net to catch moths, beetles, and other insects that fly around at night.
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(#2) Potoos Can See You Moving With Their Eyes Closed
This strange bird can follow you with its eyes closed. Potoos have narrow openings along the bottom of their eyelids that let them sense movement. Even when their eyes are closed, they can track their prey. Or, even when they're sleeping, they can detect approaching shadows to escape from harm.
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About This Tool
The great potoo is a nocturnal bird. During the daytime, they always perch on the branches with their eyes closed. The great potoos can use the pattern of their feathers to disguise themselves as tree stumps. Once they feel dangerous, they will adopt a frozen posture to make them look like a truncated tree stump to avoid the enemy, and it is difficult for people to detect their existence. The great potoo is widely distributed and has many subspecies.
You may never have seen these birds that are good at camouflage. The random tool introduced 10 fun facts about the great potoos which most people do not know. Welcome to share this interesting tool with other friends.
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