hey, i know you like birds- why is the potoo so weird? its face is all… yikes. does it fit some really specific ecological niche that needs a weird face, or have a weird evolutionary history, or what?

biologizeable:

Ah yes, the most Yikes of all birds, the Potoo

Potoos are nocturnal insectivores, like the closely related frogmouths and nightjars (below), which accounts for their soulless eyes and nightmare mouth (all the better to see/eat you with, my dear)

Furthermore, potoos can independently control their pupil dilation, to maximize incoming light and hunt effectively. They can also compress the feathers of their head and bulge out their eyes to see in a complete 360 degree rotation without moving their head. They are highly adapted to their lifestyle, and are formidable predators.

Of course, this sounds very impressive and cool in theory, but like hockey players trying to figure skate, in practice, it looks hilarious:

HOW BOUT THEM PEEPERS: For an animal that relies on camouflage to hunt and not be hunted, those eyes are anything but subtle. In keeping with their ongoing theme, potoos have once again dealt with this in yet another way that is hypothetically really cool, but makes them look like colossal dorks.

Potoos have two to three slits in their upper eyelid that always remain open, even when their eyelids are closed. With these openings, potoos can actually see objects coming from any direction with their eyes fully closed. AND YET THEY STILL LOOK RIDICULOUS

So, TL;DR: Potoos are murder dweebs. Like if Richard B. Riddick was played by Steve Buscemi.

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