It is a nocturnal bird, and its gray, black, and brown plumage provides perfect camouflage. The bird sleeps during the day, mostly found perched vertically but sleeping on dead branches. It is so well adapted to the tree that it looks like a part of it. They wake up at dusk, revealing huge eyes capable of detecting moths and other flying insects in the darkness. Potoos also have wide-open mouths to catch prey during their rapid, short, and silent flights.
Legend has it
The Shuar tell a story about the singing bird. They say that when the moon rises, it begins its regret. "Once upon a time, there was a couple who had a fight. The man was angry with his wife Aóho because she didn't prepare enough pumpkin for dinner. He climbed up a vine and tried to escape from her. When Aóho followed him to apologize with a basket full of pumpkins, he cut the vine due to his anger towards her. Aóho turned into a bird and her husband into the moon. Every day when the moon rises, the woman calls her husband with a sad cry. The indigenous people said that she calls 'aishirú, aishirú,' which means 'my husband, my husband.'"
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