noun
definition
Any bird in the taxonomic family Momotidae, endemic to the neotropics.
Examples of motmot in a Sentence
Brisson as a generic term, which has since been generally adopted by ornithologists, though motmot has been retained as the English form.
Does a blue-crowned motmot or a violaceous euphonia really want to hear strange instrumental shrieks before breakfast?
They compose the family Rhamphastidae of Coraciiform birds, and are associated with the woodpeckers (Picidae) and puff-birds and jacamars (Galbulidae); their nearest allies perhaps exist among the Capitonidae, but none of these is believed to have the long feather-like tongue which is so characteristic of the toucans, and is, so far as known, possessed besides only by the Momotidae (see MoTMOT).
This is the Momotus brasiliensis of modern ornithologists, and from its geographical range cannot be the original Motmot of Hernandez, but is most likely the "Guira guainumbi" of Marcgrave.