Belize Biodiversity Information System NAME - Keel-billed motmot FAMILY - Momotidae SCIENTIFIC NAME - Electron carinatum SYNONYMS - Prionites carinatus - Du Bus, 1847 REFERENCES - 1 National abundance, Conservation or Economic Status Reference Resident, species present all year. 25 Resident, species present all year. 3 Apparently secure in Belize 23 Rare: low density, unlikely to be seen, few localities 23 Apparently secure in Belize 16 Threatened throughout range 15 IUCN - Rare 17 Middle America endemic 18 IUCN-1994 Data Deficient 19 - Comments on Status This species is secretive and perhaps overlooked in suitable habitat. It is apparently extinct in Mexico due to habitat loss. Recent reports indicate there may be a small population in Guatemala. Previously only known from two trade skins of unknown origin. Possible small population exists in Honduras, needs to be verified. Currently Belize has the largest known populations. District Reference Cayo 6 Stann Creek 5 Toledo 4 Administrative Unit Occurrence Temporal Reference Chiquibul National Park Sighting December 24 Manatee Forest Reserve Sighting Dry season 5 Chiquibul Forest Reserve Dry season 8 Chiquibul Forest Reserve 9 Columbia River Forest Reserve Sighting Wet season 4 Columbia River Forest Reserve 21 Tapir Mtn. Nature Reserve Permanent 14 Bladen Nature Reserve Dry season 7 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary Collected as voucher 22 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 20 Hidden Valley & Falls (Bull Run) Sign, tracks/scat Dry season 13 Caracol Archaeological Reserve Sighting Wet season 6 Caracol Archaeological Reserve Dry season 6 Private land, see comments Heard Dry season 10 Government land Dry season 12 Hydrologic Association Reference Roaring Creek 14 Bladen Branch 7 Mullins River Drainage 5 Raspaculo River 8 Elevation Reference 1100-1200 m 24 601-800 m 21 801-1000 m 21 1:50,000 Quadrangle Reference 17 30' to 17 45'; 88 00' to 88 15' 10 17 15' to 17 30'; 88 00' to 88 10' 10 17 00' to 17 15'; 89 00' to 89 15' 10 17 00' to 17 15'; 88 45' to 89 00' 13 17 00' to 17 15'; 88 45' to 89 00' 14 17 00' to 17 15'; 88 00' to 88 30' 5 16 45' to 17 00'; 89 00' to 89 15' 6 16 45' to 17 00'; 88 45' to 89 00' 8 16 45' to 17 00'; 88 30' to 88 45' 20 16 45' to 17 00'; 88 30' to 88 45' 22 16 45' to 17 00'; 88 15' to 88 30' 10 16 30' to 16 45'; 88 45' to 89 00' 7 16 30' to 16 45'; 88 30' to 88 45' 20 16 15' to 16 30'; 89 00' to 89 15' 21 16 15' to 16 30'; 89 00' to 89 15' 24 16 15' to 16 30'; 89 00' to 89 15' 4 16 00' to 16 15'; 89 00' to 89 15' 12 Holdridge Life Zone Reference Tropical moist-transition to Subtropical 14 Subtropical wet 22 Subtropical wet 20 Subtropical Lower Montane wet 21 Subtropical Lower Montane wet 13 Subtropical Lower Montane moist 24 Subtropical Lower Montane moist 21 General Distribution Comments 25* Rare northern semideciduous moist forest. Rare southern moist-wet evergreen broadleaf forests. 3* Fewer than five records in northern hardwood forests, rare in southern hardwood forests. 21* "possibly... at Little Quartz Ridge" 20* Sp. not observed by Kamstra, reported by S.M. Russell(1964) 14* Seen, heard traveling E toward Roaring River (Note: Society Hall became Tapir Mtn. Nature Reserve in 1994) 13* Broadleaf forest at Butterfly Falls, May 1994 12* South west of Pueblo Viejo village 10* San Felipe 7* Lower Quebrada de Oro and Bladen from Calera to Hellgate; Hellgate upstream to Esperanza Bank and Ramos Quebrada 4* Fairly common at Union and Gloria Camps References 1 A.O.U. 1983. Checklist of North American Birds. 6th Ed. 2 A.O.U. 1985, 1987, 1989. 35th-37th Supplements. 3 Wood, D.S.,R. C. Leberman, and D. Weyer. 1986. Checklist of Birds of Belize. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication 12. 4 Parker, T. A. III, B. K. Holst, L. H. Emmons, J. R. Meyer. 1993. A Biological Assessment of the Columbia River Forest Reserve, Toledo District, Belize. pp.71-78 5 Miller, C., B. Miller. 1994. Avian Studies in the Upper Mullins River Basin, Feb. and May. Unpublished Report. 6 Miller, B. W., C. M. Miller. 1994, Birds of Caracol, 1988 - 1993. in prep. 7 Brokaw, N. L. V., T. L. Lloyd-Evans. 1987. The Bladen Branch Wilderness. p.38-42. Unpublished report. 8 Mallory, E. 1991. Survey of Birds and their Habitats, of the Joint Services Scientific Expedition to Upper Raspaculo, Maya Mountains, Belize. 9 Mallory, E. 1993. Birds of the Upper Raspaculo, Belize: JSSEUR II. Unpublished report. 10 Russell, S. M. 1964. A Distributional Study of the Birds of British Honduras. Ornithological Monographs No. 1, A.O.U. 11 Miller, B. W., C. M. Miller. 1992. Distributional Notes and New Species Records in Belize. Occasional Papers of the Belize Natural History 12 Jones, Lee. 1995. Field notes on birds noted in and around Blue Creek, Toledo District. in letter. 13 Campos, Rafael. 1996. Pers. comm. 14 Ah, E. 1994. Rare Keel-billed Motmot Seen in Society Hall. Belize Audubon Society Newsletter. Vol. 26, 1:14. 15 Collar, N.J., P. Andrew. 1988. Birds to Watch, ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds. p.205. 16 Miller, Bruce W., Carolyn M. Miller. 1996. New Information on the Status and Distribution of the Keel-billed Motmot Electron Carinatum in Belize. Cotinga (6):61-64. 17 Moutfort, guy. 1988. Rare Birds of the World. Collins/ICBP Handbook. p.72. 18 Howell, S. N. G., S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. New York. Oxford University Press. 19 Collar, N.J., L.P Gonzaga, N. Krabbe, A. Madrono Nieto, L.G. Naranjo, T.A. Parker III and D.C Wege. 1992. Threatened Birds of the Americas, The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Third ed. Part 2. Cambridge. 20 Kamstra, J. May 1987. An Ecological Survey of the Cockscomb Basin, Belize. Masters Thesis. York University, Ontario, Canada 21 Jones, L., D. Gardner. 1997. Little Quartz Ridge Rapid Assessment Program. Executive Summary: Birds. Draft report for FPMP 22 Panza, R. 1997. Carnegie Museum, Division of Birds, Holdings of Belize specimens through Jun. 1, 1997. 23 Miller, B.W., C.M. Miller. 1997. Avian Risk Assessment for Belize, Species at Risk and of Conservation Concern. Report to Programme for Belize/TNC Wings of America Program. 24 Conway, C. J., S.J. Baird. 1995. Ornithology Report for the Doyle's Delight Expedition, Maya Mountains, Belize, 3-13 December 1993. Occasional Series No. 5. Forest Planning and Management Project, Ministry of Natural Resources, Belmopan, Belize. 25 Garcia, J., S. Matola, M. Meadows, and C. Wright. 1994. A Checklist of the Birds of Belize. WWF-US. 35p.
Wildlife Conservation Society
Ministry of Natural Resources' Land Information Centre
01/19/98