Birding in Jamaica – Of Potoos and Patoos
Green Castle Estate is fortunate to host both species of Jamaica’s owls plus the very odd Northern Potoo.
Barn Owls (right) are a familiar species to most visitors. These white-faced tawny-backed birds nest on the property and are most often encountered patrolling the open pastures at night. Their eerie shriek, given in flight, is occasionally heard but their wingbeats are silent, lending them a ghostly appearance.
The endemic Jamaican Owl (left) is also relatively common on the Estate, and can be heard giving their spooky, breathy “whuuhr” call most nights during the winter and spring. A medium-sized owl, they often perch in towering guango trees.
The Northern Potoo (right) is one of seven species of potoo, all found in the Caribbean and Central/South America. Potoos are cryptically colored, blending in perfectly when roosting on the tops of fenceposts. At night they are voracious consumers of flying insects, which they capture in short flights from their woody perches. We most often see them along Tower Road after dark–their red eyeshine gives them away!
Confusingly, the Jamaican name for owls and potoos is patoo and it’s often unclear which of these three species is being referenced. Many locals associate patoos with death, and the birds are therefore regarded with dread.
| Robins Bay Road, St. Mary, Jamaica