Blue-throated Motmot

Neotropical birds are colorful and often have puzzling names. French ornithologist Frederic de Lafresnaye (1783-1861) was credited with the discovery of the Blue-throated Motmot which he named Prionites gularis, translating to gorge qu'il faut voir. Richard Bowdler Sharpe, an English ornithologist (1847-1909) separated the Blue-throated Motmot into a genus which he named Aspatha, derived from the Greek word spathe meaning spoon or spatula; Aspatha meaning without a spatula, suggesting the lack of an eye-catching racket at the end of his tail. Aspatha gularis can be translated to the Motmot without a racket and with a remarkable throat. A small motmot, between 25-28 cm with a strong beak, slightly serrated, the upper mandible black contrasting with the light fawn lower mandible; lores and parotis dark brown-ochre, the auricular region marked by a large black mark. The Blue- throated Motmot is the only one not with a mask surrounding their eyes; the forehead and cap are darkly olive-green, the nape, also olive-green, with red glares whereas the mantle is of a lighter green, the remiges grey-green with rather dull coloring. The throat is a distinctive element of the Blue-throated Motmot, a magnificent, luminous, bleu-turquoise drawing attention; the chest and upper belly are of olive-green with red glares, below the throat a black point appears, sometimes divided in two similar drops. The chest is olive-green, the colour getting duller on the lower belly which is rather grey-blue. The tail is small, compared to other motmots, and presents no racket at the end; the outer rectrices are dark green almost grey while the central rectrices tend to a blue hue.The tarsi are pale brown. There is no dimorphism, the juveniles are predominately olive green and do not yet have the shine of the adults.