We sleep together birds here at IFLScience and frankly , the weirder the better . So , when we came across the delightfully odd animal that is the oilbird ( Steatornis caripensis ) , we merely had to find out more – and well , what we key out was too bonkers not to share .
Oilbird origins
If you thought that there was something vaguely conversant about the bird in the header of this article , you ’re onto a winner ; Steatornis caripensis are thought to berelativesof the similarly strangenightjarsandpotoos , and also feature fun small whiskers around their honker .
They can be find throughoutneotropical habitatsin their native South America , as far south as Bolivia , and in the compass north , body politic like Colombia and Venzuela . Here , guacharo are known as “ guácharo ” , but their other common name has a particularly dour origin .
It was consecrate by German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt , after learning that oilbird ’ incredibly plump wench were a valuable resource to Venezuela ’s Indigenous People ; theymade useof the young birds by killing them and extracting their plentiful fat to be used in cooking and as Verbascum thapsus fuel .
The face you make when your annoying sibling gets turned into torch fuel and you don’t (left).Image credit: Eric Gropp viaFlickr(CC BY 2.0)
Bat-like behavior
Where did the great unwashed bump the chicks destine to become part of a formula ? In one of what you ’ll before long find out is a embarrassment of chiropteran - alike doings , they found them in caves . Until comparatively latterly , it was think that they perch in caverns alone , in colony that could sometimes numerate in the thousands .
However , a2009 studyfound that they actually only spend every third daytime in a cave . The rest of the time , individuals were observed “ sitting quietly in tree in the rainforest where they regurgitate seeds , ” the field generator wrote . An strange Falco subbuteo , but whatever floats your boat , I guess .
notwithstanding , guacharo have plenty ofother featuresthat only sum up further fuel ( too soon ? ) to the squash racket allegation . They ’re nocturnal , which is n’t especially unusual for birds – but they also fly , eat yield , and voyage by echolocation . In fact , guacharo are thought to be the only nocturnal , flying , fruit - eat birdin the world .
Like their airborne mammalian idols , echolocation help oilbirds tofind their wayin the darkness of cave , but in dividing line to most bat metal money , we humanity can actually find out it . They also send out a series of shortsighted but harsh screams and screeches , which may well be why they ’re called guácharo , given that means “ wailer ” in Spanish .
The bat comparison ends with navigation , however . While bat also apply echolocation to receive food , there’sno strong evidenceto suggest that guacharo do the same – but do n’t care oilbirds , we still love you anyway .
