Biological shelter from the rain A Common Potoo fledgling finds shelter from the rain under its mother's feathers. Common Potoos (Nyctibius griseus) are nocturnal birds that hide during the day camouflaged by pretending to be the upper part of dead branches and keeping perfectly still. On one memorable rainy day, a female nested and raised its young a few meters from my home, and I was able to capture the young using its mother as an umbrella to stay dry.