Northern Potoo

Northern Potoo

Nyctibius jamaicensis

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Tikal National Park
329 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026
660 Verified sightings across all 20 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month highest sighting rate
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted Active throughout day and night

About the Northern Potoo

The northern potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis) is a nocturnal bird belonging to the potoo family, Nyctibiidae. It is found from Mexico south to Costa Rica, and on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti). It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) but is now usually treated as a separate species based on differences in vocalizations.

The northern potoo was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the nightjar like species in the genus Caprimulgus and coined the binomial name Caprimulgus jamaicensis. Gmelin based his description on earlier accounts of the bird in Jamaica, including Hans Sloane's "Wood owle" published in 1725 and John Latham's "Jamaican goatsucker" published in 1783. The northern potoo is now one of the seven potoos placed in the genus Nyctibius that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The genus name is from Ancient Greek nuktibios meaning "night-feeding", from nux night and bios "life". The specific epithet is from the... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~20%
2 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
4 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%
5 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
6 Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park 🇯🇲 Jamaica
<5%
7 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
8 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
9 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
10 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
11 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
12 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
13 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
14 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
15 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
16 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
17 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
Insufficient data
18 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
19 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
20 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Northern Potoo in Tikal National Park?

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Potoo sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 329 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Northern Potoo in Tikal National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for Northern Potoo in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.

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