Green-throated Mountain-gem
Lampornis viridipallens
Rather large hummingbird of humid evergreen forest in the mountains of eastern Chiapas and south to western Honduras. Rather inconspicuous in shady understory and at edges, where feeds at all levels on flowers. Despite the name, often looks rather drab, with dark mask, whitish throat (spotted green on male, but color is hard to see), and green upperparts. Best field mark is the tail, which in flight flashes extensive pale gray on the sides.
Identification
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.<p>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.<p>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.
Taxonomy
The green-throated mountaingem has sometimes been considered conspecific with its close relative the green-breasted mountaingem (Lampornis sybillae). It has these four subspecies:<p>Subspecies L. v. ovandensis differs very little from the nominate L. v. viridipallens and might better be merged with it.
- Scientific name
- Lampornis viridipallens
- Authority
- (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lampornis
Range and habitat
The subspecies of green-throated mountaingem are found thus:<p>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).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The green-throated mountaingem is sedentary.<p>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.<p>The green-throated mountaingem is known to breed in March, April, June, and July, but no other information about its breeding phenology has been documented.<p>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'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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