[2] It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico.

[2] The keel-billed motmot is a smallish member of the family, measuring 30.5 to 38 cm (12.0–15.0 in), with males weighing 68 g (2.4 oz).

The forehead is reddish, with a black mask on the face and a blue stripe above the eye.

All that is known about their breeding behaviour is that males have been heard making territorial calls between January and March, and that nesting burrows have been found in the banks of streams and, in Belize, in the sides of unexcavated Mayan ruins.

The species requires large tracts of undisturbed primary forest, which is being cleared for cultivation.