From Opus

Photo by megan perkins
Amazonia Lodge, Peru, November 2005

Nyctibius griseus

Identification

33-38cm

• Pale grey to brown
• Finely patterned with black and buff
• Large orange iris

Distribution

Central and South America
Central America: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• N. g. panamensis:

• Nicaragua and south-western Costa Rica to north-western Venezuela and western Ecuador

• N. g. griseus:

• Colombia to Guianas, Trinidad, Tobago, Brazil and northern Argentina

An additional subspecies cornutus is generally considered invalid^[2]

Habitat

Forest, open woodland, grasslands and plantations.

Behaviour

Most active at dawn and dusk.

Diet

The diet includes insects.

Breeding

The single egg is laid in an unlined bowl on top of a tree stump. Both adults incubate the egg and care for the chick. It is fed at night.

Vocalisation

Call: a melancholic mournful 'poor me one'

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Avibase
3. Arthur Grosset
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

External Links