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Definition of "motmot" [mot•mot]

  • Any of several tropical American birds of the family Momotidae, usually having green and blue plumage with long tail feathers that spread out at the tip. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "motmot" in a sentence
  • "My favorites were the toco toucan, motmot, currasows, Yucatan jay, cinnamon-colored cuckoo, and pileated woodpecker and violaceous trogon (a relative of the resplendent quetzal)."
  • "Every year 70,000 tourists walk among the dripping forests, where relative humidity routinely reaches 100 percent, and marvel at the wealth of wildlife, from the ruby red-eyed tree frog to the sonorous blue-crowned motmot."
  • "The male motmot performs a pendulum-like display, swinging the racket-shaped tail feathers from side to side, and calling a low, resonant 'woop-woop-woop' in perfect time to the swings."
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