BIRDGACHA / FIELD NOTES

Motmots

Motmots are tropical American birds with large heads, strong bills and generally elongated bodies. Many have long central tail feathers ending in rackets, although this feature is absent or reduced in some members. Examples include Tody Motmot (Hylomanes momotula), Blue-throated Motmot (Aspatha gularis), and Russet-crowned Motmot (Momotus mexicanus). They often wait quietly on shaded perches before taking insects, small vertebrates or fruit. Slow sideways tail movements can make a motionless bird suddenly apparent. The small Tody Motmot has a much shorter-tailed outline than the classic image of a large, blue-and-green motmot with conspicuous rackets.

How to recognize Motmots

Bill: strong slightly curved bills.
Outline: large heads and often racket-tipped tails.
Feeding: watching from shaded perches before taking prey or fruit.

Where they live

Forests, wooded ravines, secondary growth and forest edges support motmots from Mexico through Central America into South America. Species differ in their use of humid forest and drier woodland. Earthen banks provide nesting sites for burrow-excavating members, linking breeding opportunities to suitable soil as well as tree cover. A bird may perch unobtrusively within shade while watching a relatively open feeding space nearby.

Species accounts: Tody Motmot · Blue-throated Motmot · Russet-crowned Motmot

Sources — natural history: Wikipedia: Motmots natural history · Cornell Birds of the World: Tody Motmot species account · Don Roberson: Motmots field observations and natural history.

Classification: IOC World Bird List: family names and classification.

Some Cornell Birds of the World account sections require a subscription.

Updated 2026-11-06. Species counts follow this site's catalogue. This is an editorial summary, not an expert peer review.