Gemma di montagna golaverde

Identificazione

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.

Tassonomia

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.

Nome scientifico

Lampornis viridipallens

Autorità

(Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)

Ordine

Apodiformi

Famiglia

Trochilidae

Genere

Lampornis

Areale e 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).

Migrazione

Resident species

Comportamento

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'."

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione

declining