Nature Field Guide
Turquoise-browed Motmot
- Spanish name
- Momoto cejiceleste / Bobo
- Scientific name
- Eumomota superciliosa
What Do Pico & Tati Think?
Pico: “The end of its tail looks like two tiny paddles!”
Tati: “The blue eyebrow gives us another clue.”
Species overview
About the Turquoise-browed Motmot
The Turquoise-browed Motmot has a striking blue-green stripe above the eye and a narrow dark facial mask. Its central tail feathers end in broad racket-shaped tips beyond a long exposed shaft, creating an unusual perched silhouette.
Photographs document the species at Punta Islita and Santa Cruz in Guanacaste, and a university sound collection records it in Guanacaste forest. These visual and sound records offer different ways to study one bird. Compare the eyebrow, mask and tail rather than identifying every long-tailed bird as a motmot. A patient observer can record its appearance without needing to approach a perch or a nesting bank.
Identification
Key Features of the Turquoise-browed Motmot
Bright turquoise eyebrow above a dark mask.
Long central tail shafts with broad racket tips.
Compare head pattern and tail together.
Habitat & range
Dry and gallery woodland in the northern Pacific, south regularly toward Tarcoles. Rare Central Valley occurrences are not used as a core regional tag.
Local observations
Named photographic records document Santa Cruz and Punta Islita. UNED’s BioSonidos provides a dated Guanacaste forest recording; neither source establishes a year-round local calendar.
When to observe
Plan a quiet observation with a local guide. Weather, food availability and the chosen habitat affect what you may see; a location record does not guarantee a sighting.
Conservation & care
Stay on authorized trails or viewing routes. Give birds space, keep voices low and leave nests undisturbed. Observe without bait, feeding or recorded calls.
Observation activity
Draw the eyebrow and racket-shaped tail. Label which details you saw clearly and which were hidden; avoid filling gaps from memory.
Explore by location
Central Pacific · Guanacaste · Puntarenas & the Gulf Islands · Guanacaste · Punta Islita · Santa Cruz