Habitat
Lowland and montane humid forest and temperate woodland, semi-arid open woodland, plantations and clearings with trees, gardens, sandy beaches, open pasture with large trees. From sea-level - 3,100 m.
Argentina (B), Belize (B), Bolivia (B), Brazil (B), Colombia (B), Costa Rica (B), Ecuador (B), El Salvador (B), French Guiana (B), Guatemala (B), Guyana, Honduras (B), Mexico (B), Nicaragua (B), Panama (B), Paraguay (B), Peru (B), Suriname (B), Trinidad and Tobago (B), Venezuela (B).
Population
Estimated population is 5,000,000 - 50,000,000 (2010).
Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) [XC257929]
by John V. Moore from Sucumb\u00edos: 'Sacha Lodge', n bank R\u00edo Napo, Ecuador (duet, song)
Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) [XC257926]
by John V. Moore from Sucumb\u00edos: 'La Selva Jungle Lodge', n bank R\u00edo Napo, Ecuador (song)
Subspecies
Momotus momota (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was previously split into Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) and Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) following Stotz et al. (1996), but this treatment is no longer adopted, following SACC (2005).
Quite closely related to Highland Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis), and sometimes treated as conspecific, but significant differences in size and plumage, as well as ecological differences, almost certainly justify their being ranked as separate full species. Very wide distribution and considerable geographical, as well as individual, variation have led to numerous subspecies being named. Subspecies goldmani, exiguus and lessonii sometimes referred to as "lessonii group", conexus, subrufescens, spatha and osgoodi as "subrufescens group", and all other populations eastern and southern from north-central Colombia as "momota group". These groups, along with coeruliceps, sometimes thought possibly to represent four separate species. In particular, populations in eastern Panama differ from those in western in several plumage characters, as well as in size and, apparently, voice, with no recorded intergradation, suggesting they are possibly distinct species. Isolated Trinidad and Tobago subspecies bahamensis rather distinct, would probably be considered separate species on basis of molecular genetics. Populations of eastern Panama and north-western Colombia, described as subspecies reconditus, now included in conexus.
The following 20 subspecies are recognised:
coeruliceps (Gould, 1836) - North-eastern Mexico (eastern Nuevo Leon, southern Tamaulipas). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus coeruliceps).
goldmani Nelson, 1900 - Eastern Mexico (Veracruz, northern Oaxaca, Tabasco) and neighbouring Guatemala (Petén). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Blue-diademed Motmot (Momotus lessonii).
exiguus Ridgway, 1912 - Yucatán Peninsula. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Blue-diademed Motmot (Momotus lessonii).
lessonii Lesson, 1842 - Southern Mexico (Chiapas) east to western Panama. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Blue-diademed Motmot (Momotus lessonii).
conexus Thayer and Bangs, 1906 - Central Panama to north-western Colombia.
subrufescens P. L. Sclater, 1853 - Caribbean coast of northern Colombia (south to Magdalena Valley) to Venezuela. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens).
spatha Wetmore, 1946 - Guajira Peninsula (Serranía de Macuira), in northern Colombia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens).
osgoodi Cory, 1913 - North-western Venezuela and adjacent Colombia (to Norte de Santander). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens).
bahamensis (Swainson, 1838) - Trinidad and Tobago. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Trinidad Motmot (Momotus bahamensis).
olivaresi Hernández and Romero, 1978 - North-central Colombia (Santander, Boyacá).
argenticinctus Sharpe, 1892 - Western Ecuador and north-western Peru west of Andes. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens).
microstephanus Sclater, PL, 1858 - Lowlands east of Andes in eastern Colombia, western Venezuela, eastern Ecuador, north-eastern Peru and north-western Brazil (east to upper R Negro).
momota (Linnaeus, 1766) - From R Orinoco east to northern Brazil (Amapá), south to northern bank of lower Amazon.
ignobilis von Berlepsch, 1889 - Eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and probably western Brazil.
simplex Chapman, 1923 - Northern Brazil south of Amazon (from near Peru border east to upper R Xingú, south to northern Mato Grosso and central Goiás).
cametensis Snethlage, E, 1912 - Lower R Xingú (probably from lower R Tapajós) east to R Tocantins.
parensis Sharpe, 1892 - From Amazon mouth east to Piauí and probably western Alagoas.
marcgraviana Pinto and Camargo, 1961 - Paraiba, in north-eastern Brazil.
nattereri Sclater, PL, 1858 - Northern and central Bolivia (mainly along Andean foothills).
pilcomajensis Reichenow, 1919 - Eastern Bolivia and northern Argentina east to southern Brazil (to southern Goiás, southern Sío Paulo and north-western Paraná).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet