Nyctibius

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Genus of nocturnal birds of tropical Central and South America

title: "Nyctibius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bird-genera", "nyctibius", "taxa-named-by-louis-pierre-vieillot"] description: "Genus of nocturnal birds of tropical Central and South America" topic_path: "general/bird-genera" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyctibius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of nocturnal birds of tropical Central and South America ::

| image = Urutau na cidade 02.jpg | image_caption = Common potoo (N. griseus) | taxon = Nyctibius | authority = Vieillot, 1816 | type_species = Caprimulgus grandis (great potoo) | type_species_authority = Gmelin, JF, 1789 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text

Nyctibius is a genus of potoos, nocturnal birds in the family Nyctibiidae.

Etymology

The genus Nyctibius was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, Comte de Buffon's "Le Grand Engoulevent de Cayenne", the great potoo, which thus becomes the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek nuktibios meaning "night-feeding", from nux night and bios "life".

Distribution

They are found throughout much of Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the Caribbean.

Taxonomy

They are one of two genera in the family, the other being the monotypic genus Phyllaemulor (containing only the rufous potoo). Prior to 2018, they were considered the only extant genus within the Nyctibiidae; however, a study that year found a deep divergence between the rufous potoo and all other species in the genus, leading it to be described in a new genus and expanding the number of genera within the family. This was followed by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022. The genus Nyctibius contains six species:

|name=Great potoo |binomial=Nyctibius grandis |image=File:Nyctibius grandis - Great Potoo; Apiacás, Mato Grosso, Brazil (cropped).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Gmelin|authority-year= 1789|authority-not-original=yes |range= southern Mexico through northeastern Guatemala and through most of Central America down through South America as far as southeastern Brazil and Bolivia. |range-image=File:Nyctibius grandis map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies=

|name=Long-tailed potoo |binomial=Nyctibius aethereus |image=File:Long-tailed potoo.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Wied-Neuwied|authority-year= 1820|authority-not-original=yes |range= from Ecuador and Peru east through southern Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas, in far northern Bolivia, northeastern Argentina, southeastern Paraguay, and southeastern Brazil |range-image=File:Nyctibius aethereus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies=

|name= Northern potoo|binomial=Nyctibius jamaicensis |image=File:Nyctibius jamaicensis.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Gmelin|authority-year=1789 |authority-not-original=yes |range= across Central America and the Caribbean. |range-image=File:Nyctibius jamaicensis map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies= |name= Common potoo or lesser potoo |binomial=Nyctibius griseus |image=File:Urutau (3729).JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Gmelin|authority-year= 1789|authority-not-original=yes |range= Caribbean plain of Colombia |range-image=File:Nyctibius griseus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on | N. g. panamensis | N. g. griseus

|name=Andean potoo |binomial=Nyctibius maculosus |image=File:Andean Potoo (Nyctibius maculosus) (9496853499) 1.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=Ridgway|authority-year= 1912|authority-not-original= |range= Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela |range-image=File:Nyctibius maculosus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies=

|name=White-winged potoo |binomial=Nyctibius leucopterus |image=File:Nyctibius leucopterus White-winged Potoo; Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas, Brazil (cropped2).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt= |authority-name=zu Wied-Neuwied|authority-year=1821 |authority-not-original=yes |range= Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela |range-image=File:Nyctibius leucopterus map.svg |range-image-size=180px |size= |habitat= |hunting= |iucn-status= LC |population= |direction= |subspecies=

References

References

  1. Vieillot, Louis Pierre. (1816). "Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire". Deterville/self.
  2. (1940). "Check-List of Birds of the World". Harvard University Press.
  3. Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
  4. (January 2022). "Frogmouths, Oilbird, potoos, nightjars". International Ornithologists' Union.
  5. (2018-04-01). "A systematic reappraisal of the Rufous Potoo Nyctibius bracteatus (Nyctibiidae) and description of a new genus". Journal of Ornithology.
  6. "Nightjars, Oilbird, potoos, frogmouths – IOC World Bird List".

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