Keel-billed Motmot Electron carinatum Scientific name definitions

The Keel-billed Motmot is a greenish motmot of forests in southern Mexico and northern Central America. It resembles the Broad-billed Motmot (E. playrhynchum) in many aspects, but that species is much more rufous overall. Both species have very similar calls - single, repeated "gaww" notes with a distinctive hoarse quality. Like other motmots, they nest in burrows in banks, but there is little information on their breeding behavior. They sally from perches within the forest, presumably to feed on aerial insects.

30·5–38 cm; male 65 g. Smallish motmot with moderately graduated tail, central rectrices with racquets; bill very broad , and flattened, with a pronounced culmen ridge, and cutting edges of mandibles finely serrated for most of length. Both sexes have sharply demarcated rufous forehead, black mask through eye with turquoise-blue streak above; rest of upperparts green; underparts greenish to greenish-cinnamon with pale turquoise chin, black chest-spot(s); bill black, with tip horn-­coloured. Juvenile apparently undescribed. Found sympatrically with Momotus momota, from which present species is distinguished by the broad bill, large chest-spots, different face pattern and much shorter bare shafts to the central rectrices (1 Eisermann, K. (2005). Noteworthy bird observations in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 125(1):3–11. Close ), and with E. platyrhynchum, whose vocalizations are very similar (see Taxonomy comments) but has extensive rufous, head and neck.

E Guatemala and C & S Belize to N Honduras, C & E Nicaragua and N Costa Rica; populations from S Mexico (SE Veracruz, NE Oaxaca) and C Guatemala possibly extinct (2 BirdLife International (2013). IUCN Red List for birds. URL: http://www.birdlife.org (download Aug 2013). Close ).

Inhabits humid evergreen forest , ­especially in areas with steep-sided gulleys and streams. In Costa Rica, occurs only in forests of foothills and neighbouring lowlands. Generally occurs below 760 m, e.g. in Guatemala (3 Howell, S.N.G. and Webb, S. (1992). New and noteworthy bird records from Guatemala and Honduras. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 112(1): 42–49. Close ), but recorded up to 1555 m in Honduras.

None recorded.

No details of diet; apparently similar to that of E. platyrhynchum. Forages by aerial sallies from perch.

Vocalizations easily can be confused with those of E. platyrhynchum, a loud, far-carrying, low-pitched, nasal "cuaet cuaet cadack" or "ohhng", given at a rate of one call per 3·5–5·5 sec (4 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close ), slightly deeper than the latter species (5 Anderson, D. L., Wiedenfeld, D. A., Bechard, M. J. and Novak, S. J. (2004). Avian diversity in the Moskitia region of Honduras. Ornitologia Neotropical 15(4): 447–482. Close ), lower and more resonant Eumomota superciliosa (4 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close ); while two males courting a female gave a nasal clucking "ohn k-k-owhng k-k-k-owhng k-k-owhng" (4 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close ); other clucking calls recall those of E. platyrhynchum and Eumomota superciliosa (4 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close ).

No details recorded. Males proclaim territories noisily in period Jan–Mar. In one area in Belize, steep-sided unexcavated Mayan structures used as nest-burrow sites; in another area, apparently steep banks along seasonal streams.

VULNERABLE. Population currently considered to be 1500–7000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Electron carinatum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2015. . Overall range fairly extensive, estimated at 36,200 km² BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Electron carinatum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2015. , but heavily fragmented and lying within area where habitat intensely threatened. Until recently, known from only a small number of widely scattered localities; in Mexico was thought to be extinct as a result of habitat loss, with no records since 1952, but rediscovered in Oaxaca in 1995. Considered rare elsewhere in range and went virtually unrecorded in Honduras throughout the 1900s until 1988 (3 Howell, S.N.G. and Webb, S. (1992). New and noteworthy bird records from Guatemala and Honduras. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 112(1): 42–49. Close ), yet has proved commoner there than thought and the broadleaf forests of the Moskitia could be a stronghold for the species (5 Anderson, D. L., Wiedenfeld, D. A., Bechard, M. J. and Novak, S. J. (2004). Avian diversity in the Moskitia region of Honduras. Ornitologia Neotropical 15(4): 447–482. Close ). Recent research suggests that Belize may have largest populations, though many of these are small, and isolated by forest clearance; at one locality 16–20 birds estimated in area of 2000 ha, in another 20–25 birds in area of 6477 ha (6 Miller, B.W. and Miller, C.M. (1996). New information on the status and distribution of the Keel-billed Motmot Electron carinatum in Belize, Central America. Cotinga. 6: 61-64. Close ). Most Belize populations now within protected areas, but long-term survival still uncertain; some males in small territories observed to be unable to attract mates, while other long-term territories seem to have been abandoned. Known from several protected areas in N Costa Rica BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Electron carinatum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2015. . Elsewhere, habitat destruction has been proceeding rapidly, especially in Mexico; forest clearance is mainly to prepare for settlement and for conversion to agriculture, especially plantations of bananas, with even protected areas in Guatemala threatened by forest fires, illegal logging and conversion to agriculture BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Electron carinatum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2015. . Considered Near Threatened until 2000, but its occurrence at low overall densities, its small and probably declining population, and dependence upon large expanses of undisturbed habitat caused it to be reassessed as Vulnerable BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Electron carinatum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2015. . Remains poorly known and inexplicably absent from what appear to be suitable areas; there is a need to clarify its current range, more precisely estimate its population, determine its true conservation status and better understand its ecological requirements.