He used the French name Le faisan de la Guiane and the Latin Phasianus guianensis.

[4] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

[5] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Phasianus motmot and cited Brisson's work.

It inhabits landscapes such as the undergrowth along rivers, in clearings, and abandoned pastures; dense secondary forest; and coastal brush.

It builds a small cup nest of roots, leaves, and sticks and places it fairly low in a shrub or tree.