Sumatran Frogmouth

About the Sumatran Frogmouth

The Sumatran frogmouth (Batrachostomus poliolophus), also known as the short-tailed frogmouth and the pale-faced frogmouth, is a nocturnal bird belonging to the family Podargidae. It is endemic to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

B. poliolophus has a large, arched bill with a light-brown to straw-yellow color. Its face is adorned with bristles, mainly on the forehead and ear coverts. It can be distinguished from other frogmouths by its tail, which is considerably shorter than its wings. It is sexually dimorphic. Males are mostly a dull dark brown with some black speckling and have a collar of white to pale buff feathers. Their underside is a lighter brown with black bars. A pattern of cream-buff spots covers the throat, sometimes extending to the breast and belly. The plumage of females is mainly rufous-brown with faint black barring. Unlike the males, the underside is generally of a similar color to the wings. The greater coverts and the upper breast sometimes exhibit white spots. The colar is variable, but generally similar to that of males.

This species is one of twelve others in its genus. The genus Batrachostomus is one of the three in the frogmouth... Wikipedia →