CreatureData

Blue-capped motmot

Momotus coeruliceps (Gould, 1836)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps) is a species in the family Momotidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 102 g to 120 g and live up to 10.4 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps)
Photo: United States Department of the Interior · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blue-capped motmot

Weight
102 g – 120 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
10.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
20.3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
21 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the blue-capped motmot live?

Not recorded

What is the blue-capped motmot?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps) or blue-crowned motmot is a colorful bird in the family Momotidae that is found in forests and woodlands of eastern Mexico. This species and the Lesson's motmot, Whooping motmot, Trinidad motmot, Amazonian motmot, and Andean motmot were all considered conspecific. The IUCN uses blue-crowned as their identifier for this species; however, it was also the name used for the prior species complex.

It is the only species in the former complex where the central crown is blue. There is a black eyemask. The call is a low owl-like ooo-doot. Blue-crowned motmots have a body length ranging from 38 to 43 cm (15 to 17 in). These birds often sit still, and in their dense forest habitat can be difficult to see, despite their size. They eat small prey such as insects and lizards, and will also regularly take fruit.

Like most of the Coraciiformes, motmots nest in tunnels in banks, laying about three or four white eggs.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue-capped motmot” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-capped_motmot&oldid=1380779854), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the blue-capped motmot endangered?

The blue-capped motmot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the blue-capped motmot classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyMomotidae
  6. genusMomotus
  7. SpeciesMomotus coeruliceps (Gould, 1836)

Synonyms Momotus coeruliceps coeruliceps, Momotus momota coeruliceps, Prionites coeruliceps

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • Blue-capped blue-crowned motmotEnglish
  • Blue-crowned motmotEnglish
  • Blue-crowned motmotEnglish
  • Blue-diademed motmotEnglish
  • Northeast Mexican blue-crowned motmotEnglish
  • BloukroonmotmotAfrikaans
  • مطموط أزرق القبعةArabic
  • motmot de corona blavaCatalan
  • Blåkronet MotmotDanish
  • BlauscheitelmotmotGerman
  • bluĉapa momotoEsperanto
  • Momoto capiazulSpanish
  • Momoto corona azulSpanish
  • sinikruunumomottiFinnish
  • Motmot à tête bleueFrench
  • plavokruni motmotCroatian
  • Motmot corona bluItalian
  • Motmot corona azzurraItalian
  • Motmot dal diadema bluItalian
  • アオズキンハチクイモドキJapanese
  • Mėlynkepuris momotasLithuanian
  • BlauwkruinmotmotDutch
  • blåkronemotmotNorwegian
  • piłodziób modrogłowyPolish
  • udu-de-coroa-azulPortuguese
  • momoto-de-coroa-azulPortuguese
  • Северный момотRussian
  • Лазурнокоронный момотRussian
  • momot modrohlavýSlovak
  • modrokroni motmotSlovenian
  • Plavokapi momotSerbian
  • blåkronad motmotSwedish
  • Mavi Tepeli MotmotTurkish
  • момот східнийUkrainian
  • 蓝顶翠鴗Chinese
  • 藍頂翠鴗Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue-capped motmot

Other species in the same genus Momotus.

CompareBlue-capped motmot vs Amazonian motmotBlue-capped motmot vs Russet-crowned motmotBlue-capped motmot vs Andean motmotBlue-capped motmot vs Trinidad motmot

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue-capped motmot?

An adult blue-capped motmot weighs 102 g – 120 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blue-capped motmot endangered?

The blue-capped motmot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the blue-capped motmot live?

The blue-capped motmot has a recorded lifespan of 10.4 years.

What kind of animal is the blue-capped motmot?

The blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps) belongs to the family Momotidae in the order Coraciiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-capped-motmot

MLA

“Blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-capped-motmot.

BibTeX
@misc{blue_capped_motmot_2026,
  title = {Blue-capped motmot (Momotus coeruliceps)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-capped-motmot},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}