Turquoise-browed Motmot

The Turquoise-browed Motmot is a colorful, medium-sized bird of Central American dry forests and scrub, national bird of both El Salvador and Nicaragua. It is most recognizable for its long tail, which ends in two elongated central feathers with bare shafts and small racket-shaped tips. Perched motmots often swing this tail side to side in a slow, pendulum-like motion, a behavior that draws attention even before plumage details are visible.

The central pair of tail feathers is diagnostic: the shaft is bare of barbs for a stretch near the tip, ending in a small flattened racket, a structure not found on the surrounding rectrices or on similar-sized songbirds. Body feathers combine rufous or cinnamon tones on the crown and back with turquoise-blue wing coverts and tail base, and a vivid turquoise stripe of feathers passes above and behind the eye. Wing flight feathers are shorter, rounded, and mostly blue-green, contrasting with the longer, more colorful tail. Loose racket tips are unmistakable field evidence of a motmot, while body feathers can be told from other motmots by the crisp turquoise brow against a rufous crown.

Sexes look alike in this species, both showing the racket tail and turquoise brow, unlike some birds where ornamentation is male-only. Immatures show duller colors and a shorter, less developed tail before the racket tips fully form. The bare sections of the racket tail shafts are thought to result partly from feather wear and preening rather than molt alone, so tail appearance can vary somewhat between individuals.

It occupies dry tropical forest edge, scrubby woodland, and semi-open country with ravines or banks suitable for nest burrows, ranging from Mexico through Central America. The species is a year-round resident across its range, not undertaking long migrations, though some local movement can occur with seasonal food availability.

Turquoise-browed Motmots perch conspicuously on low, open branches, watching for large insects and other small prey taken in short sallies. They nest in burrows dug into earthen banks or road cuts, often in loose colonies. Their voice includes low, nasal or croaking notes, and the tail-swinging display is frequently given when the bird is alert or agitated. Field observers often notice the tail motion before the bright plumage itself.