tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post4045841277372377807..comments2024-03-18T09:44:41.095+00:00Comments on ShukerNature: PORTRAITS OF A POTOO – NEITHER AN AVIAN ALIEN NOR THE BIRD FROM HELL!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15628598508836601012noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-4072761897122983672019-02-20T21:28:43.334+00:002019-02-20T21:28:43.334+00:00The great potoo's call makes me laugh! It'...The great potoo's call makes me laugh! It's the sound of eider ducks that worries me. :) I have an odd perspective on what sounds creepy though. Tubular Bells 3 is my all-time favourite piece of music.Ethan Gardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477704222423568933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-53488433725217724822018-09-06T16:12:37.165+01:002018-09-06T16:12:37.165+01:00It's just a potent combination of close-up pho...It's just a potent combination of close-up photography and forced perspective at work here.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-91575398164068805102018-09-06T12:31:44.290+01:002018-09-06T12:31:44.290+01:00Is it just me or does the potoo look huge?Is it just me or does the potoo look huge?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16576921967560858765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-52897216894233551762016-02-16T13:54:28.883+00:002016-02-16T13:54:28.883+00:00Thanks for this info, John, very useful to know, f...Thanks for this info, John, very useful to know, from a direct eyewitness, much appreciated! All the best, KarlDr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-23690573764313543582016-02-16T13:53:30.558+00:002016-02-16T13:53:30.558+00:00Hi John, Thanks for sharing your potoo encounter! ...Hi John, Thanks for sharing your potoo encounter! I was particularly interested in your confirmation that its eyes were solid black, as there has been some dispute here about this, as seen in some of the earlier comments. Very eerie-looking birds, yet totally harmless. All the best, KarlDr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-3383916090455685172016-02-15T03:36:13.395+00:002016-02-15T03:36:13.395+00:00Nope, I recently came across one of these a couple...Nope, I recently came across one of these a couple of weeks ago, its eyes were solid black and its mouth was HUGE!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942567889655634149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-64564614172851447542016-02-15T03:34:07.674+00:002016-02-15T03:34:07.674+00:00I just found one of these at my place of work here...I just found one of these at my place of work here in west Texas just a couple of weeks ago. I thought it might have been an injured baby owl. It's eyes were solid black and as I moved closer it opened its mouth, needless to say it startled me. He was fairly small, but didn't seem to be injured as he flew about 20 feet away and rested some more. I left him alone and checked again a while later, and he was gone. I wish now I had taken some pictures.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942567889655634149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-42766740919494450682015-04-01T18:42:44.987+01:002015-04-01T18:42:44.987+01:00Someone likes to make up stories. This article w...Someone likes to make up stories. This article was in my newsfeed this morning. I googled the image and found your page. I thought you might be interested in a laugh. www.news-amazingworld.com/2015/04/prehistoric-owl-successfully-cloned-in_1.html?m=1Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08180453126992097940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-24133394065632835082014-04-13T21:49:39.894+01:002014-04-13T21:49:39.894+01:00The Potoo is now my favorite bird.The Potoo is now my favorite bird.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-47809042382968822312014-03-12T23:13:23.621+00:002014-03-12T23:13:23.621+00:00It appears to be a Great Pokoo. Dark brown irides...It appears to be a Great Pokoo. Dark brown irides can be distinguished in the upper left and lower left photos. The coloration of the plumage indicates the bird may be in the transitional age between juvenile and mature.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13287979193276143141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-75317071312129873812014-03-12T22:26:29.951+00:002014-03-12T22:26:29.951+00:00Is it just possible that whoever put the pictures ...Is it just possible that whoever put the pictures up simply photoshopped the eyes to make them look creepy?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15710133115105179051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-77234697055200179132014-02-06T19:08:09.653+00:002014-02-06T19:08:09.653+00:00Yes, I have already noted these details myself in ...Yes, I have already noted these details myself in previous comments here, but as also noted by me, the iris is apparently more variable in colour than just dark brown, and the juvenile's plumage is much paler than the bird's in the photo.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-72961027482424056532014-02-06T10:28:50.454+00:002014-02-06T10:28:50.454+00:00According to the "Handbook of the Birds of th...According to the "Handbook of the Birds of the World", the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) has a brown iris and all other potoo species have a yellow iris. The plumage colour of the Great Potoo is very variable and can range from buffy-brown to nearly white.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-10110751235546394792014-01-30T22:30:10.581+00:002014-01-30T22:30:10.581+00:00The bigger problem re its identity, however, is th...The bigger problem re its identity, however, is that the plumage colouration of the mystery potoo doesn't match descriptions of juvenile great potoos, the mystery bird being too dark. No, I don't think potoos (pottos are primates!) are demonic-looking either, and agree that they are much more muppet-like, especially their huge mouths.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-48753930594174065922014-01-30T17:50:19.431+00:002014-01-30T17:50:19.431+00:00The potoo picture (when enlarged) does have lighte...The potoo picture (when enlarged) does have lighter rims at the top of the eyes. However the coloring is very dark brown, though noticeably lighter than the pupil coloring. This indicates that Darren may be right and that the reason the eyes look so dark is because the dark brown irises blend into the black pupils in the other images. <br /><br />By the way I have never found pottos demonic, to me they look like muppets.Tamara Hensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547216895449679019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-39199997129551272362014-01-27T13:34:58.183+00:002014-01-27T13:34:58.183+00:00Huh, interesting. I checked Cleere & Nurney...Huh, interesting. I checked Cleere & Nurney's Nightjars: A Guide to Nightjars and Related Nightbirds, and their illustrations and descriptions of the Great potoo pretty much match what we see in those new photos. Nevertheless, variation within that (and other) species could be an underappreciated problem - it certainly is with frogmouths (which reminds me..). Darren Naishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324870234525004643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-64337133241028826592014-01-27T04:18:39.053+00:002014-01-27T04:18:39.053+00:00Of course, the colour of the great potoo's iri...Of course, the colour of the great potoo's irides is effectively irrelevant in relation to the mystery potoo's identity because the latter bird's eyes appear entirely black, its irides can't be seen - or can they? Yesterday, FB friend George Warren Shank, speaking about the mystery potoo photo that opens this ShukerNature post and also appears at bottom-left in the photo quartet, stated to me: "I noticed if you zoom in on this little guy you can see the gold rimmed eyes". When I enlarged that photo, I couldn't discern this, but my computer's viewing set-up mightn't be as advanced as George's or other people's. So if anyone else can perceive gold rims (i.e. gold irides) in that particular photo, please post your comments here, as I'd be interested to hear from you. Thanks very much.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-34222729221745374982014-01-27T03:57:55.609+00:002014-01-27T03:57:55.609+00:00My previous comment becomes even more apposite in ...My previous comment becomes even more apposite in view of the following statement:<br /><br />"Brumfield et al. (1997) investigated the relationships among the potoos based in isozyme electrophoresis of 23 presumed genetic loci from 20 enzyme systems. The monophyly of Nyctibiidae was confirmed. The position of Nyctibius grandis within the family was not fully clarified. One interesting result of this study was the discovery of a large genetic distance (Nei's D=0.101) between one sample of grandis from Panama and two samples from Bolivia. In view of this genetic distance, and the geographical disjunction between populations in Amazonia and in southeastern Brazil, Cohn-Haft (1999) raised the possibilty that the Great Potoo may contain multiple cryptic species."<br /><br />Source: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identification?p_p_spp=222936Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-26710645303517601712014-01-27T03:51:32.535+00:002014-01-27T03:51:32.535+00:00I suspect that a conclusive taxonomic identificati...I suspect that a conclusive taxonomic identification of this potoo from the photos alone will not be possible, and that it needs to be examined directly, but as yet I have not been able to find any further, more precise details concerning it, including its specific location or even if it is still there, or indeed still alive.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-86296279832490887182014-01-27T03:48:32.872+00:002014-01-27T03:48:32.872+00:00If the mystery potoo is indeed a juvenile great po...If the mystery potoo is indeed a juvenile great potoo, then the following authoritative description of this species' juvenile form doesn't accord well with the mystery potoo: <br />"Juvenile, paler throughout, decidedly white on head, back, breast and sides, with the barring and mottling of darker colors much reduced."<br />Source is Wetmore (1968), reproduced in: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identification?p_p_spp=222936Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-61964228501040889552014-01-27T03:43:47.691+00:002014-01-27T03:43:47.691+00:00Interesting photo here of a northern potoo with on...Interesting photo here of a northern potoo with one eye's pupil much more dilated than the other one: http://www.pbase.com/merigan/image/107966446Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-69793728739602223232014-01-27T03:39:14.594+00:002014-01-27T03:39:14.594+00:00Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes B...Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes By D.T. Holyoak<br />It states that the great potoo's irides are "brown to dark brown or chestnut", but therefore not black.<br />I suspect that the mystery potoo either has extremely dilated pupils or is a juvenile with all-black eyes (though I have yet to read anywhere that juvenile potoos of any species have black eyes).Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-23942478871409449762014-01-27T03:32:41.999+00:002014-01-27T03:32:41.999+00:00According to Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Ed...According to Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Edition, the juvenile great potoo is "particularly 'ghostly' white" in colour, and has brown iris, neither of which matches the black-eyed grey bird in the photos. Intriguing.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-45613134187111327362014-01-27T03:28:08.298+00:002014-01-27T03:28:08.298+00:00"Great potoos have relatively large heads in ..."Great potoos have relatively large heads in relation to their bodies. They have large eyes with a light brown to yellow iris " - http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Nyctibius_grandis/Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-31427724254942289872014-01-27T03:19:20.371+00:002014-01-27T03:19:20.371+00:00Hi Darren, I'm not sure. The top-right pic in ...Hi Darren, I'm not sure. The top-right pic in the quartet shows that the bird does have dark spots in the middle of the breast, and Wikipedia claims that the great potoo has an orange eye (i.e. iris), not a dark-brown one. I'll check this out further.Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.com