Blackboard Tree vs Common Potoo

Alstonia scholaris compared with Nyctibius griseus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackboard Tree	Common Potoo
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Gentianales (Gentianales)	Nyctibiiformes (Nyctibiiformes)
Family	Apocynaceae	Nyctibiidae
Genus	Alstonia	Nyctibius
Species	Alstonia scholaris	Nyctibius griseus

Conservation Status

Blackboard Tree

LC — Least Concern

Common Potoo

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackboard Tree	Common Potoo
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackboard Tree

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Micronesia, Taiwan, and United States.

Common Potoo

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Blackboard Tree

The Blackboard Tree (Alstonia scholaris) is a species in the genus Alstonia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Common Potoo

A nocturnal bird of tropical forests across Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina, common potoos are masters of cryptic camouflage, roosting motionless on broken tree stumps or branches during the day with eyes barely open, resembling bark so perfectly they are nearly invisible to predators. At night they hunt large insects from exposed perches with their enormous gape. Their mournful, wailing calls — often described as haunting or eerie — carry through tropical forest nights.