Blue-throated Motmot
Aspatha gularis
Scarce inhabitant of highland forests in Chiapas and south to Honduras. Found in humid pine and evergreen forest, perching at all levels. Like other motmots, rather inactive and easily overlooked. Plumage is green overall, with a pale golden face mask and black cheek spot that is usually more noticeable than the turquoise-blue throat. No other motmots occur in its limited highland range.
Identification
The blue-throated motmot is 25.5 to 28.0 cm (10.0 to 11.0 in) long and weighs 56.0 to 67.3 g (1.98 to 2.37 oz). It has a long, graduated, tail that in contrast to that of most other motmots does not have racquet tips. The side of the adult's head is ochre with a black "ear" spot. It is mostly green above and paler green below. The throat is blue with a black spot just below it. The juvenile is duller and the green of the back is washed with olive.
Taxonomy
The blue-throated motmot is monotypic. It apparently has no close relatives.
- Scientific name
- Aspatha gularis
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1840)
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Momotidae
- Genus
- Aspatha
Range and habitat
The blue-throated motmot is found from Oaxaca and Chiapas in Mexico south and east through Guatemala and a bit of El Salvador to Honduras. It inhabits montane evergreen and pine forest of medium to high humidity. In elevation it ranges from 1,300 to 3,000 m (4,300 to 9,800 ft) in Mexico but in Honduras it is not found below 1,800 m (5,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The blue-throated motmot forages by plucking insects, especially beetles, from foliage while flying. It also eats some fruit and apparently feeds fruit to nestlings.<p>The blue-throated motmot nests in a burrow that it excavates in an earth bank; the burrows can be up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long and often have bends in them. In Guatemala it lays eggs in April, and a fledgling was collected in late May in Mexico. The clutch size is three.<p>The blue-throated motmot typically calls from a high exposed perch. It usually gives single "hoot" or "huuk" notes [1] but sometimes strings them together as "hoodloodloodloodl..." [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Moustached Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes falcirostris
Large, heavy-billed woodcreeper. Has rather unmarked plumage, but note the buffy eyebrow, moustachial stripe, and throat. No other woodcreeper within its range has such a large, strong bill. Inhabits deciduous dry forests and wooded caatinga. Song is a whining series of unmelodic notes, such as “nk-wiirh, week! weeer, weeer, weeur, weuur.”
Malaita White-eye
Zosterops stresemanni
Small. Olive-green above with a yellow belly and vent. Chest mottled buffy-olive. Bill long and fleshy. Note the thin black eye-ring and smudge in front of the eye. Common in primary forest, less common in other scrub and forest. Song reported to be melodious. Calls include a high-pitched “sit” and “peep.”
Green Figbird
Sphecotheres viridis
Male figbird is a distinctive oriole with a moss-green body and a black head with bright red facial skin. Female is brown, with a heavily streaked lighter underside and dull blue-gray or pinkish facial skin. Juvenile resembles a less boldly marked female. Gregarious; typically found in pairs or small groups within forest, edge, woodland, and mangroves in the lowlands. Occurs in a restricted range in the eastern Lesser Sundas, where it is the only figbird. Song comprises imitations, chattering, and twittering. Also gives harsh “wit,” “burr,” and trill notes: “klerr-wit-wit-wit-wit.”
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.