ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE MOTMOTS AND TODIES
Motmots Behaviour
TheMotmots are said to be rather solitary birds, or”at most living in pairs among the gloomy forests, where they sit on the underwood nearly motionless, or only jerking their long tails,”as they utter their ordinary cry of hoo-hoo or hu-tu, which is their native name in some districts. Their food is somewhat more varied than that of their close relatives the Todies, consisting of insects, reptiles, and fruits, while in captivity they become practically omnivorous.
Their nests, so far as known, are placed in holes excavated in banks, usually along watercourses. The following description of the burrow of the common Mexican and Central American species (Momotus lessoni) is by Mr. G. K. Cherrie, who observed it in Costa Rica.”The entrance tunnel extends back horizontally sometimes for a distance of six feet. At about half its length there is a sharp bend upward for some six inches, then the course is again horizontal as far as the chamber occupied by the nest. The nest space is twelve or fourteen inches in diameter, being round, and about six inches high with level floor and ceiling. A few rather coarse dry twigs are strewn over the floor.”
The nest, if opened when the young are about to leave, is found to be an exceedingly dirty and foul-smelling place, with the remains of decaying and vermin-infested food scattered about. The eggs are described as white or cream-colored and glossy; the number is three or four.
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