Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) [XC891762]
by id from Distrito Metropolitano de Quito, Pichincha, Parroquia Nanegalito, Nueva Granada, Hacienda Los Yumbos, Ecuador (song)
Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) [XC507184]
by Miguel Angelo Biz from SFF Iguaque, vereda San Pedro de Iguaque, Centro de visitantes, Colombia (?)
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Northern Potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis), and are sometimes treated as conspecific, although voices differ greatly. Costa Rican birds, originally all included in single subspecies, costaricensis, now thought to include two species; because costaricensis is currently recognized as a subspecies of Northern Potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis), birds of present species in Costa Rica and elsewhere in northern are referred to adjacent subspecies panamensis, although they possibly represent an unnamed taxon. Invalid subspecies cornutus, recognized by some earlier authors, is now considered synonymous with nominate subspecies, despite proposal for full species status based on geographically limited sample showing subtle differences in voice.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
panamensis Ridgway, 1912 - Nicaragua and south-western Costa Rica to northern South America west of Andes, from north-western Venezuela to western Ecuador.
griseus (Gmelin, 1789) - Trinidad and Tobago; east of Andes from Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas to northern Argentina, northern Uruguay and southern Brazil.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet