Priorities for Future Research

The Whooping Motmot has a broad geographic distribution, and usually is fairly common throughout its range. Nonetheless this species has attracted relatively little attention for many years, as it previously was classified as only a subspecies of the very widespread "Blue-crowned Motmot" Momotus momota. Consequently many aspects of its natural history are poorly documented or are not described at all. There is no information on such topics as age at first breeding, life span and survivorship, dispersal, population regulation, molts, territoriality and population density, sexual behavior, and responses to predators. There also is very little information regarding the diet and reproductive biology of the Whooping Motmot.