The Story
I photographed this Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) at Finca la Reserva de Ecoflora, near Monterrey in Casanare, Colombia. It lives in the Amazon lowlands and the low Andean foothills from eastern Venezuela to eastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina, reaching about 1,200 meters in Venezuela. Like most of its relatives, it nests at the end of a long tunnel dug into an earth bank. It is omnivorous, eating insects and other arthropods, small mammals, reptiles and fruit. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8, at 1/10 sec, f/8, ISO 12800, +1.5 EV. Monterrey, in the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera about 105 kilometers from Yopal, was founded on September 6, 1953, and became a municipality in 1960.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) belongs to the family Momotidae (Motmots) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List