Blue-throated Motmot

Quick Facts

  • Scientific Name: Aspatha gularis
  • Spanish Name: Momoto gorjiazul
  • Family: Momotidae
  • Known Nicknames: Blue-throated Motmot
  • Average Length: 30–34 cm / 12–13 in
  • Average Weight: 60–70 g / 2.1–2.5 oz
  • Wingspan: N/A
  • Key Feature: Bright blue throat patch and long, racquet-tipped tail
  • Primary Diet: Primarily Insectivore and Carnivore (small vertebrates, fruits occasionally)
  • Range: Highlands of southern Mexico (Chiapas) to western Guatemala, El Salvador, and western Honduras
  • Habitat: Cloud forest and humid montane forest edges, often near streams
  • Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
  • Nesting/Breeding: Burrows excavated in earthen banks or road cuts
  • Statut de conservation : Préoccupation mineure (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Blue-throated Motmot (*Aspatha gularis*) is a striking, medium-sized bird endemic to the highland forests of Central America, most notably in Guatemala and southern Mexico. Its most unique characteristic is its vivid, iridescent blue throat patch, which sharply contrasts with its otherwise green body, chestnut belly, and black facial mask. Like all motmots, it possesses a long, racket-tipped tail that it often swings side to side like a pendulum, a behavior used to communicate or startle prey. A special feature is its serrated bill, perfectly adapted for snatching insects, small lizards, and fruits mid-flight. This elusive bird is often heard before it is seen, its distinct, low-pitched "hoop" call echoing through the cloud forest canopy.

Faits amusants

Despite its name, the Blue-throated Motmot doesn’t actually have a blue throat—the color is a vivid turquoise, and its “racketed” tail feathers, which look like a pair of dangling racquets, are a unique adaptation for visual displays during courtship. These birds are known for the quirky behavior of “tail-wagging,” where they repeatedly swing their long tails side to side like a pendulum, possibly to startle prey or signal to rivals. They also have serrated edges on their bills, a rare trait among motmots, which helps them grip slippery insects and small lizards with precision.

Habitats et répartition

The Blue-throated Motmot inhabits humid montane forests and cloud forests, typically at elevations between 1,200 and 2,400 meters. It favors dense, mossy understory vegetation along steep, forested slopes, often near streams or ravines. Its geographical range is restricted to the highlands of southern Mexico (Chiapas), Guatemala, El Salvador, and western Honduras, with isolated populations also reported in northern Nicaragua. It does not occur in lowland habitats.

Comportements & Reproduction

The Blue-throated Motmot is typically monogamous, with pairs maintaining a stable territory year-round. Courtship involves mutual preening and the male offering food to the female, a behavior that strengthens the pair bond. They nest in deep burrows excavated into earthen banks or soil, which can be over a meter long, with a chamber at the end. Unlike many motmots, this species does not exhibit cooperative breeding; the pair alone incubates the clutch of 3–4 white eggs for about three weeks. Both parents share incubation duties and feed the chicks, which fledge after roughly a month. A unique reproductive strategy is the use of the same burrow for multiple seasons, with the pair often reusing and maintaining the tunnel. The chicks are born altricial and remain in the nest for an extended period, relying fully on parental care until they are capable of flight.

Alimentation

The Blue-throated Motmot is primarily a frugivore and insectivore, with its diet heavily centered on wild fruits, berries, and small invertebrates. It forages alone or in pairs, often sallying from a perch to snatch large insects like beetles, cicadas, and grasshoppers mid-air, or gleaning caterpillars and spiders from foliage. An interesting dietary fact is that it frequently consumes small lizards and frogs, which it beats against a branch to subdue before swallowing whole. Additionally, like many motmots, it will visit fruiting trees such as those in the genus *Cecropia* and *Miconia*, and it occasionally supplements its diet with nectar from flowers, particularly during dry seasons when insects are scarce.

Couleurs

The Blue-throated Motmot has a vibrant green body, a bright blue throat patch, a black facial mask, and a rufous belly. Its central tail feathers are elongated with bare shafts ending in racket-shaped tips, and it lacks the typical motmot racket-tail feather degradation, keeping them intact. No specific camouflage adaptations are noted beyond general green forest blending.