Birds in Mindo: Motmot, Toucans, Trogons

The Rufous Motmot, which was a juvenile based on its tail (adults of this species, and of many motmots, have two racquet-tipped tail feathers), and the Pale-mandibled Araçari were both perched on the same wood plank with banana or plantain on it at the visitor's waiting area of the Milpe Cloudforest Reserve, though at different times. An interesting thing about motmots' racquet tails is that when the adults preen, the barbs on a certain section of the quill, or shaft, of the feathers fall off to create the gap that shapes the racquet! The Chocó Trogon, endemic to the Chocó region of Ecuador and Colombia, looks fairly similar to the Collared Trogon subspecies found in this part of South America.

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