Blue-crowned Motmot

Description:

Male M. momota are about 40.64 centimeters in length, while the females are slightly smaller. In plumage the sexes are indistinguishable. In both, the crown is black, bordered all around by a wide band of blue, which covers most of the forehead. The back and upper tail feathers vary in shade from olive-green to parrot-green. The wings are brighter green with bluish green primaries. Racket-shaped feathers are one of the characteristics that give tropical birds so exotic an aura. The two central feathers of the long tail, which are greenish near the end and bluer near the tip, extend far beyond the lateral rectrices, and near the end each has a short length of shaft from which the vanes have fallen, transforming it into a slender stalk that supports an isolated, blue, black-tipped, spatulate expanse of feather. The black bill is broad and heavy, with coarse serrations along the edge of the upper mandible in its middle half. The large eyes are dull red, and the short legs and feet are grey. In northeastern Mexico is a form (M. momota coeruliceps) with a crown that is totally blue. The nestlings hatch completely naked.

Habitat:

The species occurs in a range of habitat types from sea level to 3100 m, including lowland and montane humid forest and temperate woodland, semi-arid open woodland, plantations and clearings with trees.