With birds technically being dinosaurs, some of them must be scary, right? There are, indeed! So let’s take a look at three bird species that we think would make perfect horror movie antagonists.
Great Potoo
The Great Potoo is a bird with big, black eyes that look like you’re staring into the void of the unknown. This, paired with the deep croaks it makes, would make for a scary encounter while walking in the forest at night.
- Scientific Name: Nyctibius grandis
- Length: 18.9-23.6 in/480-600 mm
- Weight: 12.7-22.9 oz/360-650 g
- Diet: Insects, bats, and other birds
- Habitat: Lowland forests, forest edges, foothills, open woodlands, and meadows from Southern Mexico down to southeastern Brazil and Bolivia
Fun Facts!
- It’s mainly active at night.
- It’s shape and color help it camouflage amongst tree stumps.
This is what coming across it in the middle of the night would look like. Bonus croak at the end!
Sources: Animalia
Harpy Eagle
The Harpy Eagle is a big bird of prey with a menacing look, large talons that can crush prey like nothing, and the ability to dive fast. It’s not a bird you’d want to encounter face to face in the wild.
- Scientific Name: Harpia harpyja
- Length: 34.1-42.1 in/86.5-107 cm
- Weight: 8.8-19.8 lbs/4-9 kg
- Diet: Small to medium-sized mammals and reptiles, and other birds
- Habitat: Tropical lowland rainforests from Mexico down to Argentina
Fun Facts!
- It has the largest talons compared to other living eagles. With these talons, they can exert up to 110 pounds/50 kilograms in pressure, which is enough to crush the bones of its prey.
- It can lift as much as its own body weight.
- It can reach speeds of up to 50 miles/80 kilometers per hour when diving.
- It can spend up to 23 hours looking for prey while perching on trees.
- Females are almost twice as big as males.
Sources: Animalia, San Diego Wildlife Alliance
Shoebill
The Shoebill is a large stork that’s appropriately named due to its shoe-shaped bill, which can make some very intimidating noises. If looks could kill, this bird would be responsible for a whole cemetery!
- Scientific Name: Balaeniceps rex
- Length: 39.4-55.1 in/100-140 cm
- Weight: 8.8-15.4 lbs/4-7 kg
- Height: 43.3-55.1 in/110-140 cm
- Diet: Fish, frogs, baby crocodiles, water snakes, Nile monitors, rodents, snails, turtles, and small waterfowl
- Habitat: Freshwater marshes and swamps in central tropical Africa
He’s just standing there…menacingly!
Fun Facts!
- It tends to focus on raising one chick since the other one or two eventually die and are only kept around as backups just in case the main chick dies.
- If it has eggs and it’s a hot day, it will use its beak to bring water over to them and douse them to cool them off.
Shoebills can make a machine gun-like noise using their beaks!
Sources: Animalia, San Diego Wildlife Alliance
Would you like to meet any of these birds in the wild, especially at night? Probably not, but you’re safe to visit them again behind a screen any time through this post.
If you want to look at birds that are cuter and cuddlier, flutter on over to the Cute Birds page. If you want to look at birds that are more on the “cooler” side, swoop down to the Cool Birds page.