Rufous Motmot
Encyclopedia
The Rufous Motmot, Baryphthengus martii, is a near-passerine bird
which is a resident breeder in rain forests from northeastern Honduras
south to western Ecuador
, northeastern Bolivia
, and southwestern Brazil
.
This large motmot
is 46cm long and weighs 195 g. it is mainly cinnamion-rufous, with a black face mask and central breast spot, green wings and sides, a greenish-blue lower belly, and dark blue tail and flight feathers. The tail is very long and has a bare-shafted racket tip. The bill and legs are black. Young birds are paler and duller than adults, and lack the tail rackets and black breast spot. The call of the Rufous Motmot is a low owl-like
hoop hoop huhuhuhuhuhu.
This is a bird of tall wet forest and second growth. It nests in a 4-5 m long tunnel in a bank or the side of a mammal burrow. The clutch size and eggs are undescribed.
Rufous Motmots feed on insect
s, lizard
s, fish
and crab
s, and also take many fruits, especially those of palm
s and Heliconia
s. These birds often sit still on a canopy perch, and in their dense forest habitat can be difficult to see, despite their size and colour.
The binomial commemorates the German botanist and explorer Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which is a resident breeder in rain forests from northeastern Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
south to western Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, northeastern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, and southwestern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
This large motmot
Motmot
The motmots or Momotidae are a family of birds in the near passerine order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. All extant motmots are restricted to woodland or forest in the Neotropics, and the largest diversity is in Middle America. They have a colourful...
is 46cm long and weighs 195 g. it is mainly cinnamion-rufous, with a black face mask and central breast spot, green wings and sides, a greenish-blue lower belly, and dark blue tail and flight feathers. The tail is very long and has a bare-shafted racket tip. The bill and legs are black. Young birds are paler and duller than adults, and lack the tail rackets and black breast spot. The call of the Rufous Motmot is a low owl-like
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
hoop hoop huhuhuhuhuhu.
This is a bird of tall wet forest and second growth. It nests in a 4-5 m long tunnel in a bank or the side of a mammal burrow. The clutch size and eggs are undescribed.
Rufous Motmots feed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, and also take many fruits, especially those of palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
s and Heliconia
Heliconia
Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions...
s. These birds often sit still on a canopy perch, and in their dense forest habitat can be difficult to see, despite their size and colour.
The binomial commemorates the German botanist and explorer Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
.
External links
- Rufous Motmot videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Rufous Motmot photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
- Photo-High Res; Article tropicalbirding
- Photo-Medium Res; Article marietta.edu—"The Tropical Rain Forest"
