OH MY GERSH! Where's RaptorX?

 



A Common Potoo having a panic attack.



Hey everyone, bet you were all expecting a Croc post last week. Sadly I haven't been able to get on it yet, I've been busy working on some other things, some of which I'd like to tell you all about.
The first news is that I'm writing an article for a new online magazine, called AncientPlanet Online Journal. The magazine looks nice and I''m excited that some of my articles will be appearing in it. It's every two months though and I'm trying to balance out getting info for the articles, and getting my school work done. I also have a YouTube account now if anyone is interested in talking to me on there. I might also start making videos, but I'm not sure yet, as it'll make me even more busy than I am now.

As for Crocs, it might be a while before I get to writing that post. In the meantime you might want to go over to Darren Naish's blog Tetrapod Zoology. He recently wrote a few articles on Neosuchid crocodiles, and even though I know a lot about these things, I still probably can't explain them the same way an actual scientist can.

As for the meme, it's made by yours truly. The image is of a Common Potoo, which is a type of nocturnal bird from South America related to nightjars, swifts, and hummingbirds. It's an insect eater and uses its enormous mouth to gulp down moths and other insects in flight, and is famous for its amazing camouflage capabilities, being able to mimic a broken tree stump almost perfectly. It also is known for the strange call it emits, which sounds almost like a human saying "poor me, all alone." Here's some less comical images of Potoos:

Head profile of a Common Potoo. The huge mouth has tiny bristles inside which help trap any insects that get caught.

This Common Potoo was curious of the camera when this photo was taken. A Potoo's large yellow eyes are used to help them see in the dark, but give them somewhat of a bug-eyed look.

Common Potoo hiding in plain site. It might not seem wise to close its eyes when hiding from predators, but Potoos have small notches in their eyelid which allow them to see even when their eyes are closed.

Common Potoo showing its young the art of hiding. Potoos and their relatives have such good camouflage that they can fledge chicks directly on a bear tree branch, and sometimes even open ground without ever being spotted by a predator.