Momotus mexicanus
Silhouette: Sofía Terán Sánchez · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The russet-crowned motmot (Momotus mexicanus) is a species of motmot native to north-western Mexico and central Guatemala. It is a year-round resident of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and scrubland. The russet-crowned motmot is the most understudied species of motmot in the family Momotidae.
"Russet" refers to the reddish-brown colour of the bird's head and originates from the Latin russus meaning red. Motmots are a part of the order Coraciiformes which also includes bee-eaters, rollers, todies, and kingfishers. The russet-crowned motmot is one of seven species in the genus Momotus of the family Momotidae.
Russet-crowned motmots are very sedentary because of their strong site fidelity; 60% return to the same nesting areas as the previous year because of the low amount of suitable nesting sites. As a result, gene flow between different populations is limited which can lead to speciation. Reyes et al. found that genetic variation between three populations in Mexico was very high (12.9%) considering that the populations were relatively close.
There are four recognized subspecies of russet-crowned motmots: M.m. mexicanus M.m. vanrossemi M.m. saturates... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xcaret | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Russet-crowned Motmot sighting in Puebla on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 155th most-seen of the 164 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Russet-crowned Motmot in Puebla on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Russet-crowned Motmot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Russet-crowned Motmot sightings, Puebla ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Guadalajara (México, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Russet-crowned Motmot is recorded against all the birds logged in Puebla (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
