Blue-Crowned Motmot

Description:

Beautiful, with turquoise crown, black mask, gold and green body, red eyes, and serrated upper beak (visible in 2nd photo). Their middle toes are almost completely fused to the inner toes. Their tails are long, and the two middle feathers have a partially nude portion towards the distal end, with a feathered tip. When perched, they slowly wag their tail from side to side, like a pendulum - which is how we spotted this one. Their call is a double "hoo-hoo", sounding very much like an owl.

Habitat:

This one was observed repeatedly in the heavy trees surrounding the Casita at Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica. It had the knack of flying silently to a limb close to us, observing us quietly - until we noticed it, when it would fly away! They nest in a 10x14 inch nesting chamber at the end of a 5-14 ft tunnel which they excavate themselves in a mud bank.