The Story
On June 19, 2017, I photographed this Andean Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) near Filandia, Quindío, Colombia. It lives mainly in humid montane forest, often near streams, and also at forest edges. It eats mainly arthropods and some fruit. In Colombia it lives in all three Andean ranges, from about 1,500 to 3,100 meters. Filandia is the northernmost town in Quindío, about 26 kilometers north of Armenia, at 1,923 meters above sea level.
I used a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Andean Motmot as Least Concern with a decreasing population, and red howler monkeys have started using the restoration corridors planted since the 2000s to link the Barbas canyon forest with the Bremen forest.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Andean Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List