Whooping motmot
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Subclass
Infraclass
Superorder
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Momotus subrufescens

The whooping motmot (Momotus subrufescens ) is a colorful near-passerine bird in the family Momotidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Appearance

The whooping motmot's back and wings are olive-green and the underparts dull brown. It has a long, green to blue, tail that that has extended feathers with racquet tips that are blue tipped with black. Its crown is black surrounded by a blue band, and it has a black eyemask bordered with turquoise. Twenty-seven specimens of the nominate whooping motmot weighed 75 to 124 g (2.6 to 4.4 oz).

Distribution

Geography

The whooping motmot has two disjunct populations. The nominate subspecies is found from eastern Panama to northern and western Colombia. M. s. spatha is only on the Guajira Peninsula of northern Colombia. M. s. osgoodi is found from eastern Colombia into northwestern Venezuela. M. s. agenticinctus is separate; it is found in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. The whooping motmot inhabits several forest types including lowland evergreen and deciduos primary forests, forest edges, and secondary forest.

Whooping motmot habitat map
Whooping motmot habitat map
Whooping motmot
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Habits and Lifestyle

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Not much is known about the whooping motmot's diet. It probably mostly eats large arthropods but is also reported to eat berries and lizards.

Mating Habits

Like most Coraciiformes, the whooping motmot nests in long tunnels in earth banks.

Population

Population number

The IUCN has assessed the whooping motmot as being of Least Concern.

References

1. Whooping motmot Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooping_motmot
2. Whooping motmot on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61634657/163628473
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/599783

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