Strange bird found in Mexico

Suck (bonjourno)
Dic K (you)
CoK sucker

Originally posted by bicnarok
Look like a baby eagle or something like that. Ive sent it to a bird Expert I know, will reply after he´s seen it and commented.

Got some information from a bird expert.
He´s seen it in Argentina

It is known as the Common Potoo, which hunts insects at night using its huge mouth to scoop them up. During the day they sit on tree branches for which they are perfectly camouflaged.

en.wikipedia.org...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9nmGyrMPiY

Originally posted by karl 12
"Another freaky pic of a Frogmouth/Whipperwill/Chotocabra/Nightjar/Nighthawk.
Don't know if the 'fangs' are a split beak,taxidermy implants,matted feathery tufts or completely photoshopped but its an interesting pic anyway."

Good observation! Well call it a audacious assumption, but if an animal’s head looks like a snake’s, has jaws like a snake and moves them like a snake does … (second last post on page 7) then it might be … – SURPRISE - a snake(/reptilian) head! And btw, as we all know there are such lovely human/reptilian hybrids everywhere, so what’s so special about bird/reptilian hybrids? Who’d want to discriminate against them?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c76705910ee7.png[/atsimg]


[edit on 26-2-2009 by CoolBlackHole]

Freaky report from Texas:

Ey! DIOS MIO midar esto! no creo que es verdada
either a hoax....(hence the lack of closer-ups, or longer shots etc.) OR ...one of the weirdest things i've seen...the dino-esque / reptilesque mouth and oral movement,.... AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by karl 12


That looks like a youngster, we have a bird like that at the zoo I volunteer at in MA, but ours is much bigger so the one in the video must be quiet young. www.capronparkzoo.com... The ones at the Zoo I believe are tawny frogmouths from Austrilia.
www.charliesbirdblog.com...

I believe it is a different species though, I found some links to other south american birds that look similar to the one in the video.
aswewalk.files.wordpress.com...

images.google.com...://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/IST/IST505/great-potoo-_~1058486.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fotosearch.com/IST50 5/1058486/&usg=__2xcebrMc-yXoJlvKy4NaNTVUPxw=&h=320&w=202&sz=26&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=JunkE-7ejUCgZM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=74&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsouth%2Ba merican%2Bnocturnal%2Bbirds%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

reply to post by karl 12


That my friend is a: FROG-MOUTHED OWL!!!!
We have plenty of them here in Australia.
My friend had one as a pet (injured) when I was young; his parents lived on a large rural property.
This bird is nocturnal, very timid; so therefore, doesn't like urban life.
I would say its an Import, weather illegal to that region ???
There is loads of wildlife smuggling that goes on here; maybe this was a "trophy-pet" that got away!'

reply to post by karl 12


Depending on the size of the bird in texas it might need to launch from a mountain or cliff to get any lift to soar through the air. Although study shows that some species might have been capable from taking flight from ground level. So they should be looking in the hills and mountains if they want to find this thing, it could be using whatever thermals are in the area to carry it. These creatures have been known to cover large distances over time, so who is to say it didn't come from california, or mexico?

I found some interesting materials related to this peterodacyl.
www.sciencedaily.com...
( Scientist working on a robot version, didn't they have one in that movie from the 80s? War games? )

"The next generation of airborne drones won’t just be small and silent," says the multidisciplinary group, "they’ll alter their wing shapes using morphing techniques to squeeze through confined spaces, dive between buildings, zoom under overpasses, land on apartment balconies, or sail along the coastline."

www.sciencedaily.com...

Anyone who takes the time to read this post.....PLEASE! Google: Frog-Mouthed Owl; here lies your oyster.

Originally posted by VampireZio
reply to post by karl 12

 

I believe it is a different species though, I found some links to other south american birds that look similar to the one in the video.
aswewalk.files.wordpress.com...

VampireZio, you show good knowledge in this field easy for me I live in Oz.
I think you will find this link above is also a Tawney? Frogmouth(Australian).Still all good.

Tawney



Zelong.

reply to post by Zelong


Finally some sense
Could be close related species, but the frog-mouthed/ Tawny Owl card is where I am placing my bets!
How about all the animal smuggling that goes on world wide though; anyone that asks," but what would an Aussie bird be doing here"?

dont know how it got were it is but thats an australian bird a twany frogmouth,quote-The Tawny Frogmouth was first described in 1801 by English naturalist John Latham. Its specific name is derived from the Latin stems "stix" "owl" (Latin: strix) and "-oides" "form" (Latin −oides). It belongs to the frogmouth family Podargidae, which also includes the other species of frogmouths like the Javan and Solomons Frogmouths. The frogmouths belong in Caprimulgiformes, which in turn is part of Neoaves. The frogmouth family has been around for about 56 million years,[citation needed] since the Eocene period.
Although related to owls, frogmouths are more closely related to nightjars and oilbirds.

Originally posted by liquidsmoke206
reply to post by eaganthorn

 

I was just looking at some night hawks online...are you sure?
I mean this thing has similar markings, but that mouth is a little weird...it's like it doesn't even have a beak.

i didnt go through all the pages to see if this is posted, but

looks like a chuck-will's-widow

related to the whooper-will.

reply to post by Dizrael


Why did you guys revive this old thread? It was established long ago that the creature is in fact a REAL cryptid caught on tape. Please brothers, go and read the whole three year old thread once more.

Originally posted by Franz von Humboldt
reply to post by Dizrael

 

Why did you guys revive this old thread? It was established long ago that the creature is in fact a REAL cryptid caught on tape. Please brothers, go and read the whole three year old thread once more.

edit on 25-7-2012 by Franz von Humboldt because: (no reason given)

ha, sorry, i didnt even notice. i saw it was on the list of recent replies so i went through it.

not to start this back up, but thats not a REAL cryptid, its either the chuck-will's-widow or any number of birds related. i could list the names of birds like it, or you could name the cryptid.

Could be a caprimulgus vociferous (goat sucker). Or something similar.

Funny how someone identified the bird early on, yet a lenghty discussion over its identity ensues anyway.

I am from Mexico and I can confirm it's a nightjar. In Spanish they are called "chotacabras" which translates as "goat sucker", not because they suck blood, but because they were said in myth (European, not Mexican myth) to suck the milk of goats at night. Which is of course not true.
Depending on the location they also receive the names of "tapacaminos" or "atajacaminos" which basically means "road-blockers", probably because of their habit of laying on the ground instead of perching in tree branches.

I remember the first one I saw one up close, it was just the same as the one in the video, maybe a more reddish color; it had been hit by a car and killed and the body stuck to the front bumper, with its wings outstretched to the sides. The car driver seemingly didn´t realize and left, but then a lot of people gathered around to see the bird which they thought was an owl.
When I explained it was a "chotacabras" many looked scared as they thought I had said "chupacabras" I even took a few feathers of it for my collection.

I've seen plenty of them afterwards, often flying around lamp posts in the middle of the city; people never seem to realize they're there.

It is definitely NOT a frogmouth (although distantly related) and there's no need for anyone to catch this bird in say, Australia, and release it in Mexico, as there are plenty of species of nightjar in this country, and also a few of potoos (also closely related, but NOT the bird in the video).