motmot

American  

[mot-mot] / ˈmɒt mɒt /

noun

1. any of several tropical and subtropical American birds of the family Momotidae, related to the kingfishers, having a serrate bill and chiefly greenish and bluish plumage.

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motmot British  

/ ˈmɒtmɒt /

noun

1. any tropical American bird of the family Momotidae, having a long tail and blue and brownish-green plumage: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)

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Etymology

Origin of motmot

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin American Spanish, from New Latin motmot; repetitive compound of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Lots of these are flashy and colorful, like Peru’s Andean cock-of-the-rock, Angola’s red-crested turaco, Nicaragua’s turquoise-browed motmot.

From Slate • Dec. 30, 2016

Sure enough, we soon found the excited motmot up in some high branches, fluttering around a Cook’s tree-boa, alerting other birds and blowing the snake’s stealth.

From Time • Jul. 22, 2015

One morning, our guide said he heard a bird known as a motmot saying “snake!”

From Time • Jul. 22, 2015

It seems that this motmot is characterized by colonial nesting habits in Campeche, even where abundant sites for individual nesting efforts are available.

From Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula by Klaas, Erwin E.