The Story
I photographed this Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) at El Escondite Reserva Natural, a private reserve near Villagarzón, Putumayo, Colombia. It lives mostly in dense lowland forest, forest edges and clearings, and in daytime it usually perches or nests more than 12 meters up in big trees. Its nest is just a slight hollow on a thick branch, where it lays a single white egg. Forest clearing is the only known threat to the species. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 2x extender, at 1/350 sec, f/22, ISO 3200, −1 EV. El Escondite sits at kilometer 27 of the road between Puerto Asís and Mocoa, with flat trails through regenerating forest.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) belongs to the family Nyctibiidae (Potoos) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
