Green-throated mountaingem

Last updated

Green-throated mountaingem
Lampornis viridipallens 13729378.jpg
male
Lampornis viridipallens 10004781.jpg
female
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Lampornis
Species:
L. viridipallens
Binomial name
Lampornis viridipallens
(Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
Synonyms
  • Delattria viridipallens

The green-throated mountaingem or green-throated mountain-gem (Lampornis viridipallens) is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. [3] [4]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The green-throated mountaingem has sometimes been considered conspecific with its close relative the green-breasted mountaingem (Lampornis sybillae). [5] It has these four subspecies: [3]

Subspecies L. v. ovandensis differs very little from the nominate L. v. viridipallens and might better be merged with it. [5]

Description

The green-throated mountaingem is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs about 5.4 g (0.19 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a straight black bill, a white stripe behind the eye above a dark cheek, and a slightly forked tail. [5]

Adult males of the nominate subspecies have green upperparts with a bronzy rump and bluish black uppertail coverts. Their central tail feathers are black and the rest pale gray. Their throat is white with bluish green spots, their breast white, their belly grayish with green spots on the sides and flanks, and their undertail coverts dusky gray. Adult females have emerald green upperparts and an unspotted white throat but are otherwise like the male. Juveniles are like adult females but with a pale buffy throat. [5]

Subspecies L. v. amadoni is darker overall than the nominate and is less bronzy on the rump. L. v. ovandensis differs from the nominate only in having a lesser extent of green spots on the sides and flanks. L. v. nubivagus has dark green upperparts and an intensely bronze rump. [5]

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of green-throated mountaingem are found thus: [3] [5]

The species inhabits the interior and edges of humid evergreen and pine-oak forest. In elevation it ranges between 900 and 2,700 m (3,000 and 8,900 ft). [5]

Behavior

Movement

The green-throated mountaingem is sedentary. [5]

Feeding

The green-throated mountaingem forages for nectar at all levels of the forest. Details of the plants it visits have not been described. In addition to nectar it also feeds on insects captured by hawking. [5]

Breeding

The green-throated mountaingem is known to breed in March, April, June, and July, but no other information about its breeding phenology has beed documented. [5]

Vocalization

What is thought to be the green-throated mountaingem's song is "a complex warble of squeaky notes and buzzy, gurgling trills, 'tsee-tsee-glr-tsee-glr-tsee-glugluglugluglu-glr-glr-tsee'." Its calls include "a hard, buzzy 'zzrrt', a short 'tsik' and high-pitched thin 'see'." [5]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the green-throated mountaingem as being of Least Concern, though its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is considered generally common and is found in some protected areas. However, it has a restricted range and "parts of [its] habitat are under threat of deforestation [and it is] not known to tolerate man-made habitats." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet sabrewing</span> Species of hummingbird

The violet sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of the subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated mango</span> Species of hummingbird

The black-throated mango is a species in subfamily Polytminae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, and on Trinidad and Tobago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper-rumped hummingbird</span>

The copper-rumped hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Tobago, Trinidad, Venezuela, and possibly Grenada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-billed starthroat</span> Species of hummingbird

The long-billed starthroat is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and all but the four southernmost countries of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-throated mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The blue-throated mountaingem, also known as the blue-throated mountain-gem or blue-throated hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in the United States and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-tailed mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The grey-tailed mountaingem, also variously spelled gray-tailed mountaingem, grey-tailed mountain-gem, or gray-tailed mountain-gem, is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Costa Rica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-throated mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The purple-throated mountaingem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-throated mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The white-throated mountaingem or white-throated mountain-gem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steely-vented hummingbird</span>

The steely-vented hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berylline hummingbird</span> Species of bird

The berylline hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-eared hummingbird</span> Species of hummingbird

The white-eared hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from the southwestern U.S. to Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald-chinned hummingbird</span>

The emerald-chinned hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed sylph</span> Species of hummingbirdbird

The long-tailed sylph is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-fronted hummingbird</span>

The green-fronted hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Mexico and possibly Guatemala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-throated starfrontlet</span> Species of hummingbird

The blue-throated starfrontlet is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet-fronted brilliant</span> Species of hummingbird

The violet-fronted brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-headed sapphire</span> Species of hummingbird

The blue-headed sapphire or Gray's hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amethyst-throated mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The amethyst-throated mountaingem, also called amethyst-throated mountain-gem or amethyst-throated hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-breasted mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The green-breasted mountaingem or green-breasted mountain-gem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Honduras and Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled metaltail</span> Species of hummingbird

The scaled metaltail is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Green-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis viridipallens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22687672A93163659. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22687672A93163659.en . Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 3 Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (January 2022). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 12.1. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved 27 May 2021
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Züchner, T. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Green-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis viridipallens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gtmgem1.01 retrieved 18 May 2022