Blue-crowned Motmot

Momotus momotaOrder: CORACIIFORMESFamily: Motmots (Momotidae)

Overview

Blue-crowned Motmot: Large motmot with brilliant blue crown and strong black crown stripe and mask. Upperparts bright green while underpart vary from olive-green to rufous with a black spot in center of chest. Long tail includes two unique paddle-like feathers that extend beyond tip of tail. Sexes similar. Juvenile has less distinct head pattern, lacks breast spot and paddle-like tail feathers.

Range and Habitat

Blue-crowned Motmot: Found from NE Mexico to northern Argentina. In Costa Rica widespread on Pacific Slope except at high elevations, largely absent from Caribbean lowlands. Highly adaptable and found in intact forests, second-growth, coffee plantations, overgrown gardens, and many other habitats.

Listen:

Voice Text

"mot-mot"

Related Birds:

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Blue-crowned Motmot

● Song: "mot-mot"

● Foraging & Feeding: Blue-crowned Motmot: Frequents the shaded interior of forests and brushy areas, where it scans the ground and vegetation for small prey items and fruit. Eats everything from spiders and insects to lizards and bananas, also catches insects in flight. Slowly swings its tail from side to side while perched and looking for food.

● Breeding & nesting: Blue-crowned Motmot: Three to four round white eggs laid at the end of a 5 to 14 foot burrow dug into a sandy bank along a road or stream. Male and female cooperate to dig the burrow during the rainy season (August to October) when the soil is moist, then leave the nesting area until they return to lay eggs in March or April. Both sexes share nesting duties. Eggs incubated about 20 days and young leave the nest at 2 to 3 weeks.

● Similar species: Blue-crowned Motmot: Of the six motmots in Costa Rica, the Turquoise-browed Motmot is most similar because it also has blue in its crown and a long paddle-shaped tail. The Turquiose-browed Motmot differs in having a rufous back, large black patch on its chest, and very long "stalks" on its paddled tail.

Flight Pattern

Mostly perches motionlessly. Has an undulating flight pattern.

● Range & Habitat: Blue-crowned Motmot: Found from NE Mexico to northern Argentina. In Costa Rica widespread on Pacific Slope except at high elevations, largely absent from Caribbean lowlands. Highly adaptable and found in intact forests, second-growth, coffee plantations, overgrown gardens, and many other habitats.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight4 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of Central and South America