The national animal of El Salvador is the turquoise-browed motmot. This small bird is a stunning sight with bright, multicolored plumage and a very unusual and long tail. They live in Central America from Mexico to Costa Rica, where they are very common throughout. They are important national symbols particularly in El Salvador.
Birds, due often to a lack of external pressures like predators, have in many cases adapted elaborate and strange appearances which mostly are dedicated to finding a mate.
The motmot is certainly a great example of this as their long tails are visually stunning and do confer physical benefits, but are also really important for mating.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of El Salvador?
The national animal of El Salvador is the turquoise-browed motmot.
These tropical birds are among the most visually striking in the country and it is no surprise that they have become important national symbols to the people of El Salvador.
They are colorful and medium-sized, one member of the wider motmot family which includes a number of species.
They are found across Central America in very large numbers and, fortunately, are not in any way threatened or in immediate danger of extinction.
They can be found as far north as south-east Mexico and all the way to Costa Rica.
They are mostly found in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
They are more conspicuous than other motmots, perching in the open on wires and on fences.
They are around 13 inches long and usually weigh around 2.3 ounces.
Their bodies are mostly grey-blue, and they have a rufous back and underside.
A bright blue strip is seen above the eyes as well as blue-bordered black patch on their throat.
The feathers used in flight are blue.
They have an extraordinary racketed tail, and what makes this motmot particularly interesting is that this feature is exhibited by both the males and females.
Usually, this kind of elaborate display is something that the male uses to win the attention of females.
Certainly, it is used for this, but both males and females have this long tail where often females would lack these sorts of display feathers.
Males do tend to have a longer tail than the females.
So, the longer a male’s tail, the more chance they have of winning a mate.
The tail is also used for a wag-display which can be used outside of a mating context, for example being used to indicate the presence of a predator.
They have a nasal, croaking call that carries a very long way.
Why is the motmot the national animal of El Salvador?
The turquoise-browed motmot is the national animal of El Salvador for a number of different reasons.
They are seen as symbols of a number of things, such as freedom and liberty since they live over such a wide range and so are seen to embody the will to go and be anywhere they wish.
Because they are so common throughout Central America, they have come to be very important symbols to the people there regardless of the country they are from.
They are also seen as the perfect encapsulation of El Salvador’s natural beauty.
Naturally, the country is tropical and characterized by rainforests and humid environments, and the motmot can be found in many such areas around the country.
In many parts of the country, the land is as colorful as the birds themselves, so in that sense, they have come to be seen as embodiments of the national spirit.
You may get a different answer to this question depending on the person you ask, but one thing is for certain: most people in El Salvador see the turquoise-browed motmot as an important symbol of something.
What does the motmot eat?
The motmot is mostly a predator, and scans from perches for its prey.
It eats things like insects and even small reptiles.
They are well adapted to catching such prey so they may eat just about they can get their hands on that is the right size.
Worms, beetles, ants, or just about anything it can find that isn’t toxic or poisonous.
Lizards naturally come in many sizes and though the motmot is not an especially large bird, there are plenty of lizard species that make ideal prey for them and provide a great meal when they can catch them.
Where is the motmot found?
The motmot is found over a very large area in Central America.
They mostly live in fairly open habitats rather than anything that is too densely forested.
They will often live on the edges of forests, where they have a clear sight of the ground and, thus, their prey. They are also found in gallery forests and scrubland.
They are well adapted to many different environments and this is what has made them so particularly common in Central America: they can find many different niches in which to live and do so very successfully.
They are listed as of least concern by the IUCN Red List.
Exotic birds are often the most impressive animals you can see in these parts of the world even where you might find huge predators like big cats or alligators and cayman.
The motmot is a great example of this, as they are so colorful and visually unique that you could contemplate it for hours.
As a result, they have become very important national symbols in El Salvador.