Guatemala Wildlife – 10 Facts About Turquoise-Browed Motmot

The turquoise-browed Motmot is a beautifully colored medium sized bird that lives from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico down to Costa Rica. It lives in fairly open habitats such as forest edge, gallery forest and scrubland.

When it comes to food Motmots eat small insects and reptiles such as lizards they might also eat fruits. They have even been seen eating poisonous frogs in Costa Rica.

These are medium sized birds and measure approximately 34 cm long and weigh about 65 grams. It has also been known that motmots live somewhere between 12 to 14 years.

It has also been known that motmots live somewhere between 12 to 14 years. Some studies have shown that motmots move their tail back and forth in a wag-display when they detect predators and that the display is likely to communicate that the motmot is aware of the predator and is prepared to escape.

After mating these birds lay 3 – 6 white eggs in a long tunnel nest in an earth bank or sometimes in a quarry or fresh-water well. Studies have also shown that males apparently use their tail as a sexual signal, males with longer tails have the best pairing success and reproductive success.

Right now the motmot population appears to be stable. Hence the species is not on the vulnerable lists. But because of the human effect their numbers are declining fast.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!