The Story
I photographed this Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota) at La Reserva Finca Turística, near San Juan de Arama, Meta, Colombia, in January 2020. It lives in the Amazon lowlands and low Andean foothills, inside and along the edges of humid forest. The subspecies microstephanus is the one found in southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and northwestern Brazil. Its long tail ends in racquet-tipped feathers. It eats insects and other arthropods, small mammals, reptiles and fruit. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200. Farming and cattle are the base of San Juan de Arama’s economy.
©2020 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