MOTMOTS

I’m doing an entire blog with pics on  two birds called Motmots.  I am unsure of the origin of that name.  I am also unsure just how many species of Motmots there are, but I suspect close to 20, all of which range from Mexico through a large portion of South America.  Many are large and colorful, and in some species the tail is referred to as a racket-tail.  Apparently the barbs near the end of the longest tail feathers are weak, and so fall off easily, resulting in the tennis racket shape. The ones I am familiar with in Ecuador often perch motionless, so if  per chance you see one before it flies off, you have a reasonable chance of edging closer without spooking it.

Where I currently live the only Motmot species is the Whooping Motmot, so named because its song sounds like “Whoop.”  They are around 16 inches long, and mostly bluish green in color.   There is a loose group of 5 Whooping Motmots where we reside.  Some even come to eat the bananas I put out every morning.  They are soooo picturesque that I just cannot resist taking pics of them whenever the opportunity arises.  

The rest of the pics are of Rufous Motmots, which were taken in the North part of the country.  They are brown on head, neck and underparts, have a black mask, and are a deeper blue-green on the back than the Whooping variety, and are about 18”.   All Motmots nest in burrows, and most of the photos of the Rufous Motmots were of a pair which were digging a burrow near the cabin where I was staying.  I hope you enjoy these pics. 

The all green ones are the Whooping Motmots while the ones with brown are the Rufous Motmots