Momotus aequatorialis
Silhouette: Sofía Terán Sánchez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The Andean motmot or highland motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) is a colorful near-passerine bird found from northern Colombia to western Bolivia. The Andean motmot and the blue-capped (Momotus coeruleiceps), whooping (M. subrufrescens), Trinidad (M. bahamensis), Lesson's (M. lessonii), and Amazonian motmots (M. momota) were all at one time considered conspecific. The Andean motmot has two recognized subspecies, the nominate Momotus aequatorialis aequatorialis and M. a. chlorolaemus.
The Andean motmot is in general typical of its family: It is a large bird with a stout black bill and a long tail with a "racquet" tip. It is 46 to 48 cm (18 to 19 in) long and weighs 143 to 202 g (5.0 to 7.1 oz). Its back, wings, throat, breast, and belly are green. The crown is black, bordered on the sides and rear with a "diadem" of various shades of blue. It has a black "mask" bordered with blue and a black spot or streak in the center of the breast. The racquets are dark blue.
The Andean motmot is resident in the Andes from Colombia through Ecuador and Peru to La Paz Department in northwestern Bolivia. In Colombia, it occurs... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Vilas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Parque de la Conservación | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Cali Zoo | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Motmot sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 790 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 65th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March–June and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Motmot in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, July and September–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Andean Motmot sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Andean Motmot sightings, Los Nevados National Natural Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (Colombia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Andean Motmot is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (790 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
