Whooping motmot
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Whooping motmot
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Momotus subrufescens, Panama 5.jpg
| genus = Momotus
| species = subrufescens
| authority = Sclater, PL, 1853
| range_map = Momotus subrufescens dist.png
}}
The whooping motmot (Momotus subrufescens) is a colorful near-passerine bird in the family Momotidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/ |title=IOC World Bird List (v 11.1) |last1=Gill |first1= F. |last2=Donsker|first2=D.|last3=Rasmussen |first3=P. |date=January 2021 |access-date=January 14, 2021 }}
Taxonomy and systematics
The whooping motmot and the blue-capped (Momotus coeruleiceps), Trinidad (M. bahamensis), Amazonian (M. momota), Lesson's (M. lessonii), and Andean motmots (M. aequatorialis) were at one time all considered conspecific.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021Orzechowski, S. C. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bucmot3.01 retrieved May 5, 2021 They were split following a 2009 publication which detailed their differences.{{cite journal|last=Stiles |first=F. Gary |date=2009 |title=A review of the genus Momotus (Coraciiformes:Momotidae) in Northern South America and adjacent areas |url=https://www.coraciiformestag.com/Research/Motmot/momotustaxonomy.pdf |journal=Ornitología Colombiana | format = PDF | volume=8 | pages=29–75 | issn=1794-0915 |access-date=May 5, 2021}} The whooping motmot has four recognized subspecies, the nominate Momotus subrufescens subrufescens, M. s. spatha, M. s. osgoodi, and M. s. agenticinctus.
Description
The whooping motmot's back and wings are olive-green and the underparts dull brown. It has a long, green to blue, tail that has extended feathers with racquet tips that are blue tipped with black. Its crown is black surrounded by a blue band, and it has a black eyemask bordered with turquoise. Twenty-seven specimens of the nominate whooping motmot weighed {{convert|75|to|124|g|oz|abbr=on}}.
Distribution and habitat
The whooping motmot has two disjunct populations. The nominate subspecies is found from eastern Panama to northern and western Colombia. M. s. spatha is only on the Guajira Peninsula of northern Colombia. M. s. osgoodi is found from eastern Colombia into northwestern Venezuela. M. s. agenticinctus is separate; it is found in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. The whooping motmot inhabits several forest types including lowland evergreen and deciduous primary forests, forest edges, and secondary forest.
Behavior
=Feeding=
Not much is known about the whooping motmot's diet. It probably mostly eats large arthropods but is also reported to eat berries and lizards.
=Breeding=
Like most Coraciiformes, the whooping motmot nests in long tunnels in earth banks.
=Vocalization=
Status
The IUCN has assessed the whooping motmot as being of Least Concern.
References
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