The bird was actually a rare and elusive great potoo, a species of nocturnal bird that feeds on large insects and small vertebrates. At first glance, this creature might seem like a prop from a movie set. For some, it may appear to be a good editing job from a studio. Except it’s too real and from its own planet.

In the Colombian city of Chibolo, a woman stumbled upon an extraordinary bird on a fence… The woman, who initially thought the motionless creature was a piece of wood, noticed the rare potoo bird as she approached the wall. Images of the woman capturing those moments caught attention. An unidentified woman in the city of Chibolo in the Magdalena region of Colombia encountered an unusual bird on wooden fences. The woman, who initially thought the inactive bird was a piece of wood, realized that the creature she saw was a rare bird as she approached the fence.

The woman recorded the creature, also known as the ghost bird, on her cell phone as soon as she saw it. The images garnered attention on social media. The person who recorded the footage said, “When I first saw it, I thought the bird was a piece of wood, but when it moved, I approached. Later, when the bird opened its eyes and mouth, it scared me. I decided to record what I saw because I found the bird strange. When I approached, I raised my hand and it opened its mouth in response.” Claiming she had visited the farm five times before but had not encountered such a creature, the woman said the neighbors heard a distinctive voice.

Spanning across the southern hemisphere, the potoo bird uses its camouflage ability to hide from predators. This creature, also known as the ‘ghost bird,’ hunts at night and during the day, it camouflages itself thanks to its feathers similar in color to tree bark and can sleep peacefully in trees. The potoo bird has eyes that provide excellent night vision. Slits in the eyelids help predators perceive their movements even while they sleep.

These birds, which usually perch on broken tree branches or wooden posts, do not nest. They hide their eggs in the hole they dug in the rotten bark. Potoo birds, which are very difficult to notice, feed on flies and insects. Fossils of these creatures, measuring about 38 centimeters long, have been found in Germany and France. But they no longer live in Europe today. You can watch the video here: