The Tody Motmot: a Bijagua specialty

Our first trip to Bijagua in 2016 was actually because of the Tody Motmot. This was a bird that Erica wanted to see and we planned a few days in Bijagua to look for this bird with Donald Varela. We saw our first Tody at Tapir Valley by the creek.

Since that time, I've been able to spend more time with these birds and Bijagua is the best place in Costa Rica to see them. The forests around Tenorio are perfect habitat for this great species.

Tody Motmots need primary forest habitat with water and they prefer steeper terrain. You'll find them on the hillsides near the trails at both Heliconias Rainforest Lodge and Tapir Valley. In November and December it's not uncommon to hear at least ten individuals at either location.

As far as I know, there isn't much reported on the nesting of Tody Motmots, but their tails become very worn and they often have dirt on their bills during nesting, so it seems that they burrow into hillsides and trail edges as other motmots do.

They can be difficult to see the first few times. They're very small (~17cm or 6.6in) and most of that is their tails. They appear like little round balls in the dark forest and are pretty easy to see after you know to look for that.

They move around in the forest more than other motmots with a very straight, quick flight through the trees and vegetation.

Photographing them can be challenging. They seldom get close and they're small and they love dark cover.

If you'd like to see a Tody Motmot, contact us today for tour information.