The oilbird is the rainforest bird famous for eating fruit and nesting in caves.
The oilbird, Steatornis caripensis, is a nocturnal bird found in northern South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Trinidad. It spends the day in dark caves or ravines and leaves at night to feed mainly on oily palm fruits and other fruits.
Oilbirds are notable because they use echolocation to navigate in darkness. Their clicking calls are less sophisticated than the sonar of bats, but they help birds avoid obstacles inside caves. This makes the oilbird one of the few birds known to echolocate.
The name refers to the oily flesh of young birds, which was historically rendered for fuel in parts of South America. Oilbirds are not related to true nightjars, despite their nocturnal habits. They belong to their own family, Steatornithidae.