Keel-billed motmot

Appearance

The keel-billed motmot is a smallish member of the family, measuring 30.5 to 38 cm, with males weighing 68 g. The plumage is green overall, olive-cinnamon green below. The forehead is reddish, with a black mask on the face and a blue stripe above the eye. The chin is turquoise, and there is a black spot on the chest. The bill is long, broad and slightly serrated. The long tail ends in a pair of raquettes.

Distribution

It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical moist montane forests. The species is generally found below 750 m, but in Honduras it can be found up to 1,550 m.

Status

It is threatened by rapid loss of its fragmented forest habitat. The species requires large tracts of undisturbed primary forest, which is being cleared for cultivation. The largest population is thought to be in Belize. The species is absent from many areas that appear to provide suitable habitat. The species was thought to be extinct in Mexico, but was rediscovered in 1995. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Reproduction

Very little is known about the behaviour of this species. They hawk for insects from a perch, in the manner typical of the family, hawking for insects from a perch. All that is known about their breeding behaviour is that males have been heard making territorial calls between January and March, and that nesting burrows have been found in the banks of streams and, in Belize, in the sides of unexcavated Mayan ruins.