Green-breasted Mountain-gem
Lampornis sybillae
Medium-sized hummingbird, not particularly bright. Green above and dingy grayish below with dense green spots on sides and breast. Adult males have iridescent green throat that looks gray at most angles; females and young birds have white or buffy throat. In all plumages, look for white line behind eye. Tail dark with white outer tail feathers. Found in montane forests and edges, often with pines and oaks.
Identification
The green-breasted mountaingem is about 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long and weighs about 4 to 7 g (0.14 to 0.25 oz); males are larger than females. It has a medium-length straight black bill. Adults of both sexes have deep metallic grass green upperparts with some bronze on the rump and black uppertail coverts. They have a white stripe that curves down behind the eye and deep metallic grass green cheeks with a thin white stripe below them. <p>Adult males' underparts are also mostly metallic grass green, with white or grayish white margins on the feathers. Their lower belly, vent area, and leg tufts are white. Their inner undertail coverts are green with white edges and the outer ones dusky gray with wide white edges. Their central tail feathers are grayish black and the others pale gray to grayish white with dusky margins. <p>Adult females have a buff chin and throat and grayish white underparts with metallic green on the sides of the breast. The outermost two pairs of tail feathers are white or grayish white with a dusky gray bar near the end; neither have the male's dusky margins. Some individuals have a green sheen on the upperside of the central tail feathers, which males never have. <p>Juveniles have dark green mottling on their throat and buffy to cinnamon tips on the upperparts' feathers. Older immature birds begin to show the adults' throat and tail colors.
Taxonomy
The green-breasted mountaingem has sometimes been considered conspecific with its close relative the green-throated mountaingem (Lampornis viridipallens) or may form a superspecies with it. It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Lampornis sybillae
- Authority
- (Salvin & Godman, 1892)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lampornis
Range and habitat
The green-breasted mountaingem is found in central and eastern Honduras and northwestern Nicaragua. It inhabits the interior and edges of humid evergreen and pine-oak forest and also the transition zone from the latter into cloudforest. In elevation it generally ranges between 1,400 and 2,200 m (4,600 and 7,200 ft), though some authors extend that range to between 750 and 2,400 m (2,500 and 7,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The green-breasted mountaingem is thought to make seasonal elevational movements.<p>The green-breasted mountaingem feeds on nectar and small insects and spiders, but details of it diet and foraging techniques are lacking.<p>Almost nothing is known about the green-breasted mountaingem's breeding phenology. Data suggest that its breeding season is approximately November to February.<p>The green-breasted mountaingem's song is "a soft, scratchy warble...often with a trill at the end". Males usually sing from hidden perches, though sometimes in the open or in flight. Both sexes give "short, buzzy 'shrrrt' calls" while feeding.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Banded Stilt
Cladorhynchus leucocephalus
Large black-and-white shorebird with white head and long straight, needle-like bill, very long pink legs. Adult has prominent copper-colored belly-band, lacking in juvenile. Thick white trailing edge to wing obvious in flight. Occurs in small groups or in immense flocks, usually close to inland salt lakes or coastal lagoons.
Gray-hooded Fulvetta
Fulvetta cinereiceps
Small brown bird with a bulbous gray head and staring white eyes. Typically moves about in small groups in low, dense areas such as scrubby patches and bamboo stands. Found at middle to upper elevations. Song is a distinctive and memorable series of three whistled notes: the first two notes ascend (second note noticeably longer), and the third note descends.
Chapada Flycatcher
Guyramemua affine
Medium-sized flycatcher with a gray head, olive back, and yellow belly. Note the white rump contrasting with the dark tail, which has a broad white terminal band. Found in open wooded savannah, usually in pairs. Performs a charismatic duetting display singing a high and nasal “where where, whooz it” and “whru” notes, while lifting wings and flicking tails. The similar Suiriri Flycatcher has a longer bill and a white belly; it also lacks the white rump and tail band as well as having a different song and display.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.