Some of the most beautiful, most colorful birds in all Central America - indeed, all the world - live in the tropical forests of Belize. Among these are the Blue Crowned Motmot, as shown on the 25c issue, and the Ocellated Turkey, on the 45c issue. The Motmot nests in the ground rather than in trees. It digs its nesting holes between August and October, the rainy months while the ground is soft; and then returns in March or April, the breeding season, to inhabit the nest. Another forest dweller is the magnificently colored Ocellated Turkey. It boasts a rainbow like plumage of green, blue, gold and copper-bronze, and nothing is quite so grand as this bird in its proud posture of courtship, with its feathers outstretched. Like the Motmot, the turkey builds its nest in well hidden places in the ground. Both of these birds are considered among the most attractive birds in the New World.
