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Monitoring the annual vocal activity of two enigmatic nocturnal Neotropical birds: the Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) and the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis)

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Abstract

Potoos (Nyctibius spp.) are nocturnal Neotropical canopy-dwelling birds, making them one of the most enigmatic and least known avian families. The Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) and the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis) are the most widespread species, but little information on their life histories is available. We evaluated the utility of autonomous recording units, coupled with automated signal recognition software, to monitor the calling behavior of both species for the first time over a complete annual cycle at six different sites in the Brazilian Pantanal. Their diel activity was restricted to the night, with higher calling rates after midnight. The breeding season of the Common Potoo, according to seasonal changes in vocal activity, seems to occur between July and November, while the breeding period of the Great Potoo extended from July to December. The reproduction periods proposed for each potoo in this study correspond mainly with the dry season in the study area and are in agreement with the few historical nest site observations from Brazil. The maximum calling activity of both species occurred between 1 and 5 a.m. September was the month with the maximum vocal activity of the Common Potoo, while the Great Potoo was most vocally during October. The vocal activity of neither potoo was related to night temperature. The Great Potoo was more vocally active during nights with high moon illumination. Our results will be useful in future monitoring programs for these species. Acoustic monitoring has proven to be a helpful tool for monitoring the presence and calling seasonality of the Common Potoo and the Great Potoo, mainly due to their naturally low vocal activity rates. Acoustic monitoring should be evaluated and used to increase our knowledge about the ethology and ecology of this enigmatic avian family.

Zusammenfassung

Erfassung der jährlichen Gesangsaktivität zweier eigenartiger, nachtaktiver neotropischer Vogelarten: des Urutau-Tagschläfers ( Nyctibius griseus ) und des Riesentagschläfers ( Nyctibius griseus )

Tagschläfer (Nyctibius spp.) sind nachtaktive neotropische Vögel, die in Baumkronen leben und zu den eigenartigsten und am wenigsten untersuchten Vogelarten gehören. Der Urutau-Tagschläfer (Nyctibius griseus) und der Riesentagschläfer (Nyctibius grandis) sind die am weitesten verbreiteten Arten, aber es liegt nur wenig Information über ihre Lebensart vor. Wir testeten den Nutzen autonomer, mit automatisierter Signalerkennungssoftware ausgestatteter Aufnahmegeräte, um zum ersten Mal über ein komplettes Jahr hinweg das Rufverhalten beider Arten an sechs unterschiedlichen Standorten im brasilianischen Pantanal aufzuzeichnen. Ihre Aktivitätszeit beschränkte sich auf die Nacht, wobei die Anzahl ihrer Rufe nach Mitternacht höher als davor war. Aufgrund der jahreszeitlichen Änderungen seiner Lautäußerungen nehmen wir an, dass die Brutzeit des Urutau-Tagschläfers zwischen Juli und November liegt, während die Brutzeit des Riesentagschläfers von Juli bis Dezember reicht. Die Fortpflanzungszeit beider von uns untersuchten Arten lag überwiegend in der Trockenzeit in unserem Untersuchungsgebiet, was den wenigen, alten Beobachtungen an Neststandorten in Brasilien entspricht. Die meisten Lautäußerungen gab es bei beiden Arten nachts zwischen 1 und 5 Uhr. Der Urutau-Tagschläfer zeigte die größte Ruf-Aktivität im September, wohingegen das Ruf-Maximum des Riesentagschläfers im Oktober lag. Bei beiden Arten gab es keinen Zusammenhang mit der nächtlichen Temperatur. Der Riesentagschläfer war in Nächten mit starkem Mondlicht Ruf-aktiver. Unsere Ergebnisse werden für zukünftige Überwachungsprogramme für diese Arten von Nutzen sein. Die akustische Überwachung hat sich als nützliches Werkzeug für die Überwachung der Anwesenheit und der jahreszeitlichen Ruf-Aktivität von Urutau-Tagschläfer und Riesentagschläfer erwiesen, was in erster Linie an ihrer ohnehin niedrigen Ruf-Aktivität liegt. Akustisches Monitoring sollte eingesetzt werden, um unser Wissen über das Verhalten und die Ökologie dieser eigenartigen Vogelfamilie zu erweitern.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets analysed during the current study are not publicly available since they are being used for different scientific purposes, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Furthermore, we thank the SESC Pantanal, Mato Grosso, for permission to conduct research on their property and their logistical help with our fieldwork. This study is part of the biodiversity monitoring project Sounds of the Pantanal–The Pantanal Automated Acoustic Biodiversity Monitoring of INAU, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil, which was conducted under SISBIO permit no. 39095 (KLS). We are grateful to four anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve the manuscript.

Funding

We greatly appreciate the financial support from the following institutions: the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–Brasil (CAPES), Finance Code 01; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Áreas Úmidas (INAU/UFMT/CNPq); Centro de Pesquisa do Pantanal (CPP); and Brehm Funds for International Bird Conservation (BF), Bonn, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Fernando Correa da Costa Av. 2367, Cuiabá, MT, 78060-900, Brazil

    Cristian Pérez-Granados & Karl-L. Schuchmann

  2. Postgraduate Program in Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

    Cristian Pérez-Granados & Karl-L. Schuchmann

  3. Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig (ZFMK), Ornithology, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Karl-L. Schuchmann

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  1. Cristian Pérez-Granados
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Contributions

(1) Conceived the idea, design, experiment (supervised research, formulated question or hypothesis): CPG, KLS. (2) Performed the experiments (collected data, conducted the research): KLS. (3) Wrote the paper (or substantially edited the paper): CPG, KLS. (4) Developed or designed methods: CPG. (5) Analyzed the data: CPG. (6) Contributed substantial materials, resources, or funding: KLS.

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Correspondence to Cristian Pérez-Granados.

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Pérez-Granados, C., Schuchmann, KL. Monitoring the annual vocal activity of two enigmatic nocturnal Neotropical birds: the Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) and the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis). J Ornithol 161, 1129–1141 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-020-01795-4

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