Oilbird

nocturnal · echolocation · fruit-eater · cave-dweller

Night fruit hunter. Oilbirds are the only birds in the world that fly around at night eating fruit. They hunt for oil palm fruits and tropical laurel fruits while everything else is sleeping.

Bat-like navigation. Instead of relying only on their eyes, oilbirds make high-pitched clicking sounds around 2,000 times per second and listen to the echoes bouncing back, just like bats do. This special ability called echolocation helps them find their way through dark caves.

Cave communities. Oilbirds live together in huge colonies inside caves in South America and Trinidad, where they return every night to roost and raise their chicks in safety.

Super night vision. Their eyes are specially adapted to see in almost complete darkness, allowing them to spot fruit and navigate even when it's pitch black outside.

Clicking call makers. Their echolocation clicks are actually loud enough for humans to hear without any special equipment, making a distinctive sound as they zoom through caves.