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CORACIIFORMES

The Coraciiformes are very colorful birds. The order is composed of the following families:
Bee-Eaters: Meropidae  Kingfishers: Alcedinidae   Motmots: Momotidae    Todies: Todidae
Rollers: Brachypteraciidae (Ground Rollers), Coraciidae (Rollers) , Leptosomidae (Cuckoo Roller)

Motmots

Order Coraciiformes    Family Momotidae

Motmots are restricted to woodland or forest in the Neotropics, and the largest diversity is in Middle America. They have a colorful plumage and a relatively heavy bill. All except the Tody Motmot have relatively long tails that in some species has a distinctive racket-like tip. Motmots eat small prey such as insects and lizards, and will also take fruit. Like most of the Coraciiformes, motmots nest in tunnels in banks, laying about four white eggs. Motmots often move their tail back and forth in a wag-display that commonly draws attention to an otherwise hidden bird. This signal provides a benefit to both the motmot and the predator: the display prevents the motmot from wasting time and energy fleeing, and the predator avoids a costly pursuit that is unlikely to result in capture.


Genus Aspatha - 1 species

Motmot,_Blue-throated  Aspatha gularis  Found: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico
The Blue-throated Motmot has mainly green plumage; blue throat; black ear-covert, small breast patch.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Mexico  2) Adrian_Tween - Guatemala  3) Jorge_Montejo - Mexico



Genus Baryphthengus

Motmot,_Rufous  Baryphthengus martii Found: Central America, South America
The Rufous Motmot has cinnamon-rufous head, back breast; black face mask; small black chest spot; green wings and flanks; greenish-blue lower body; blue tail.
Image by: 1, 5)  Dominic Sherony  2, 3) Nick Athanas - Panama, Ecuador  4) Andy_Reago-Chrissy_McClarren - Costa Rica



Motmot,_Rufous-capped  Baryphthengus ruficapillus  Found: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
The Rufous-capped Motmot has rufous cap; black face mask; greenish underparts with rufous lower breast band.
Image by: 1) Claudio_Timm - Brazil  2) Carlos_Henrique - Brazil  3) Luiz_Carlos_Rocha - Brazil  4)Hector_Bottai - Brazil



Genus Electron

Motmot,_Broad-billed  Electron platyrhynchum  Found: Central and South America
The Broad-billed Motmot has rufous head, breast; black spots on breast; broad base of bill; blue-green chin, belly.
Image by: 1)   Francesco_Veronesi - Costa Rica  2) Fotografia_Azul_Profundo  3, 4) Nick Athanas - Ecuador 


Motmot,_Keel-billed  Electron carinatum  Found: Central America
The Keel-billed Motmot has mainly green upperparts; olive-cinnamon underparts; reddish forehead; black mask; blue supercilium.;
Image by: 1) Dominic Sherony  2) Francesco_Veronesi - Costa Rica   3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jorge_Arroyo in Costa Rica  4) Alan_Harper - Honduras 



Genus Eumomota - 1 species

Motmot,_Turquoise-browed  Eumomota superciliosa  Found: Central America
The Turquoise-browed Motmot has a rufous back, belly; black crown, mask; turquoise eyebrow-like arc; turquoise edging to eye mask; turquoise upper part of tail; long tail rackets.
Image by:  1, 2)  Dominic Sherony  3) Jerry Oldenettel - Costa Rica   4) Alastair Rae   5, 6) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica




Genus Hylomanes - 1 species

Motmot,_Tody Hylomanes momotula  Found: Mexico, Central America, Columbia
The Tody Motmot is the smallest motmot. It has a light stripe below the eye; black half eye-stripe.
Image by: 1) Mdf - Panama  2) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica  3) Dominic_Sherony



Genus Momotus

Motmot,_Amazonian  Momotus momota  Found: eastern Venezuela to northeastern Argentina
The Amazonian Motmot has a black cap surrounded by a blue crown; black eye-mask; chestnut nape. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dave_Curtis in Brazil, Luciano_Bernardes in Brazil


Motmot,_Andean also Highland Motmot Momotus aequatorialis  Found: northern Columbia to western Bolivia
The Andean Motmot has black central crown surrounded by blue band. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1) Alejandro Tamayo  2) Dave Curtis - Columbia  3, 4) Nick Athanas - Columbia


Motmot,_Blue-capped  Momotus coeruliceps  Found: eastern Mexico
The Blue-capped Motmot has dark blue central crown surrounded by blue ring; black eye-mask. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online-Juan_Miguel_Artigas_Azas   2) Roberto_González


Motmot,_Lesson's  Momotus lessonii  Found: Mexico, Central America
The Lesson's Motmot has a black cap surrounded by a blue crown; black eye-mask. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica  2) Michelle_Reback - Costa Rica  3) Dominic_Sherony- Belize


Motmot,_Russet-crowned  Momotus mexicanus  Found: Guatemala, Mexico
The Russet-crowned Motmot has bluish-green upperparts; green underparts; orange-brown cap; black eye-arc with blue below.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Mexico  2) Amy_McAndrews - Mexico  3) Nick Athanas - Mexico 4) Len Blumin - Mexico 


Motmot,_Trinidad  Momotus bahamensis  Found: Trinidad, Tobago
The Lesson's Motmot has a black cap surrounded by a blue crown; black eye-mask. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1) Stephan_Turner - Tobago  2) Cheesy42 - Tobago  3) Allan_Hopkins


Motmot,_Whooping  Momotus subrufescens  Found: southern Panama to nortwest Peru
The Whooping Motmot has black central crown surrounded by blue band; black eye mask. Amazonian Motmot, Andean motmot, Blue-capped Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Whooping Motmot were previously consider the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Image by: 1)  Nick Athanas - Panama, Columbia, Ecuador  4) Sergey_Pisarevskiy - Columbia





TODYs

Order Coraciiformes    Family Todidae - 1 genus


Genus Todus
All five species of tody (Todus) are very small, chunky, short-tailed birds, with green upperparts, a red throat, and a long, flattened bill. They are found in the Caribbean.

Tody,_Broad-billed  Todus subulatus  Found: Dominican Republic
The Broad-billed Tody has green upperparts; red throat; stubby bill; pinkish flanks; yellow lower-belly.
Similar to: Narrow-billed Tody. Broad-billed Tody has narrower bill than Narrow-billed Tody. Narrow-billed Todyhas whiter underparts and tends to occur at higher altitudes.
Image: 1) Carlos_De_Soto_Molinari  2) Carlos_De_Soto_Molinari  3) Ron Knight


Tody,_Cuban  Todus multicolor  Found: Cuba and nearby islands
The Cuban Tody has green upperparts; red throat; yellow lores; blue ear patch; black bill on top and red on bottom; whitish-gray underparts;  pink flanks.
Image by: 1, 2) Charles_Sharpe  3) Francesco_Veronesi


Tody,_Jamaican  Todus todus  Found: Jamaica
The Jamaican Tody has green upperparts; red throat; white upper-breast; yellowish rest underparts.
Image by: 1) Dominic_Sherony  2) Charles_J_Sharp  3) Ron_Knight


Tody,_Narrow-billed  Todus angustirostris  Found: Dominican Republic, Haiti
The Narrow-billed Tody has green upperparts; red throat; white underparts.
Similar to: Broad-billed Tody. Broad-billed Tody has narrower bill than Narrow-billed Tody. Narrow-billed Todyhas whiter underparts and tends to occur at higher altitudes.
Image by: 1) Ron Knight  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Gil_Ewing


Tody, Puerto Rican  Todus mexicanus   Found: Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican Tody has green upperparts; white underparts; yellow flanks; red throat, lower mandible. Male has gray eyes; females have white eyes.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels - Puerto Rico 





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