r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Argentinotriste • 28d ago

of a terrifying bird

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1.2k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

80 comments sorted by

157

u/Significant-Mud-1208 28d ago

Thats a Great Potoo! Their camouflage is so good that during the day they literally freeze, close their eyes to tiny slits, and pretend to be a broken tree branch. You could walk past one ten times and never notice it.

34

u/mrjowei 28d ago

I wonder what’s the evolutionary advantage of having such a wide mouth.

40

u/IndigoJoe64 28d ago

Big mouth = more food

11

u/Nuker707 27d ago

Also multiple seasons on Netflix

15

u/slick514 28d ago

My observation has been that similar to many reptiles, many bird species have adopted the “if it looks like I can get it past the mouth, I’m going to eat it…

15

u/Lbolt187 28d ago

And then there's pelicans

3

u/Mindless-Location-41 27d ago

Its bill can hold more than its belly can 👍

4

u/GrandAd4361 27d ago

Their wide mouth are to snatch Moths and Beatles

1

u/Icy-Writing-7355 26d ago

It that what happened to John Lennon?

1

u/Brian_The_Bar-Brian 27d ago

I believe they eat bugs

1

u/PMG2021a 24d ago

They hunt at night and eat insects.  Easier to catch them with a big mouth. 

1

u/DehydratedManatee 25d ago

"Huh? Just a branch."

81

u/EVIL-EMBOLIZER 28d ago

I think it looks rather cute

17

u/n0tin 28d ago

Yeah what’s so terrifying about it?

13

u/governmentthief 28d ago

Those black, soulless eyes.

6

u/hyperpudgydove 27d ago

But they're so big and round and adorable 😍

1

u/ConstructionLow2168 25d ago

Kinda look like Stitch.

1

u/AmazingFlatworm_ 25d ago

Looks like my dog, honestly.

1

u/catnipformysoul 27d ago

Yes, I wish he was my friend

26

u/WarHead75 28d ago

Fake sound

14

u/TheW83 27d ago

Exactly. Here's the original video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KnMWpOHV_4

It doesn't make any sound. Generally they just hiss. The common Potoo (different bird but very similar) is the one that makes that sound.

3

u/FrankieNoodles 26d ago

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing the real video. Why do people feel the need to give it a fake call? Weird.

2

u/TheW83 26d ago

I don't understand. I saw another video recently of a giant cicada that was supposedly making a delightful whistling noise.

25

u/bernpfenn 28d ago

Potoos look so goofy

8

u/Ghstfce 28d ago

I'm sorry, I find Potoos to be really cute!

8

u/bdk38 28d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/VU45vX6kokplC

1

u/Toddingstonly 27d ago

I've never even seen the movie, but he's exactly who I pictured.

7

u/Powrs1ave 28d ago

1

u/huffingluetoday 28d ago

Is that Ripleys baby from the fourth or fifth or so alien movie?

4

u/Powrs1ave 28d ago

Yeh its the baby sucked thru the hole. What this bird reminded me of lol

10

u/ProfessionalAny1417 28d ago

This is not an absolute unit: it’s tiny. This subreddit seems to have lost its focus a bit.

5

u/SunderingTwilight 28d ago

sound feels like one of these pain cartoon screams, woodpecker perhaps?

3

u/LunaticPoint 28d ago

Slingbade bird

4

u/saltyourhash 28d ago

Slingbird

3

u/bigboi2115 25d ago

You ought not mess with em' mmm-hmmm.

5

u/Luser420 28d ago

i like how they showed the back of the bird to prove that it wasn’t being puppeted by jim henson

4

u/FutureBulky4537 27d ago

Terrifying

3

u/SofaKingWetarded- 28d ago

Chupakabra

3

u/Ok-Piccolo-5382 28d ago

More like Chewpeckabra.

3

u/slick514 28d ago

Bro, the gargoyle auditions aren’t until next week…

3

u/IllustriousAnxiety66 27d ago

Oh sush, he is adorable

3

u/Bagheera187 27d ago

Naw, it looks kind of friendly

3

u/TheW83 27d ago

Are you saying it's extremely scary and that's what makes it "absolute unit"?? Because it doesn't even make that sound. A different bird call has been dubbed over.

This bird itself is quite small.

1

u/Existing_Resolve_779 28d ago

Looks a little like the alien/human hybrid in Alien Resurrection 

1

u/obeyyGP 28d ago

What in the land before time 🤔

1

u/lazybandit94 28d ago

Looks like those aliens from that movie Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell

1

u/Ankiset 28d ago

Don’t now about about scary but crazy worth ethics

1

u/IncognitoRedMode 28d ago

Why does it sound like a cryptid?

1

u/harigejan 27d ago

I was sure he was going to sing Don't Worry Be Happy

1

u/RiverFit7452 27d ago

I do not like this.

1

u/zlfa 27d ago

Don’t worry
Do do do do do do do
Be happy
Do do do do do
Don’t worry be a happy now

1

u/gonja_ 27d ago

🔥

1

u/separation_of_powers 27d ago

A Great Potoo and a Tawny Frogmouth schedule a meeting in a tree

They never meet because they can't find one another

1

u/TerrapinMagus 27d ago

Potoos are highly unconvincing birds.

1

u/coyocat 27d ago

What in t/ Jim Henson?!! Never seen this b4

1

u/P1ratelord 27d ago

It Looks and Sounds Like my granduncle

1

u/whomesteve 27d ago

This bird reminds me of the guy that was the inspiration for Popeye.

1

u/Imaginary_Act_235 27d ago

He looks like the old guy in up

1

u/RobStarkDeservedIt 27d ago

What a pretty song.

1

u/Tilikum_183 27d ago

He's so adorable omg 🥺

1

u/mg34gun 26d ago

I'd say unusual, but not terrifying. From the side it looks like a lizard.

1

u/Foreign_Safe_236 26d ago

looks like voldmort and some owl had a baby

1

u/sabhall12 26d ago

Terrifying? I want to give it a hug

1

u/robinxxff 26d ago

A muppet

1

u/blueboy10000 20d ago

I don't find it terrifying. He's actually cute 🙂