The
Black-throated Mango (
Anthracothorax nigricollis) is a mainly
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
n
hummingbirdHummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, and include the smallest extant bird species, the Bee Hummingbirds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12-90 times per second . They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so. Their English name derives...
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
.
It is 10.2 cm long and weighs 7.2g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved. The tail in both sexes has dark central feathers, the outer tail being wine-red tipped with black.
The male has glossy bright green upperparts. His throat and chest are matt black, bordered with blue-green.
The
Black-throated Mango (
Anthracothorax nigricollis) is a mainly
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
n
hummingbirdHummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, and include the smallest extant bird species, the Bee Hummingbirds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12-90 times per second . They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so. Their English name derives...
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
.
Description
It is 10.2 cm long and weighs 7.2g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved. The tail in both sexes has dark central feathers, the outer tail being wine-red tipped with black.
The male has glossy bright green upperparts. His throat and chest are matt black, bordered with blue-green. The flanks are bright green, and the black of the chest tapers onto the belly.
The female Black-throated Mango has bronze-green upperparts and white underparts with a black central stripe. Immature birds show some grey or buff feather tips on the head and wings, and have brown around the eyes.
The call of the Black-throated Mango is a high-pitched
tsiuck, and the song is a buzzing
hsl-hsl-hsl-hsl-hsl-hsl-hsl.
This species is very similar to the closely related
Green-breasted MangoThe Green-breasted Mango is a hummingbird from tropical America. The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French naturalist Florent Prévost.- Description :...
. Although the male Black-throated Mango has more extensive black on the underparts, this and other plumage differences are not always easy to confirm in the field because the birds appear all-black. The females of the two species can be almost inseparable, although the Black-throated lacks the more extensively coppery upperpart of its relative.
Distribution and ecology
It breeds from
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
south to northeasterm
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
, southern
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
and northern
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
. It is also common on both
TrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² it is also the fifth...
and
TobagoTobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada...
. It is a local or seasonal
migrantBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
, with some birds moving up to 1000 miles, although its movements are not well understood.
This small
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
inhabits open country, gardens and cultivation. Though it will adapt to human activity, it seems less of a
generalistGeneralist may refer to:* a person with a wide array of knowledge. A polymath. The opposite of which is a specialist* Generalist and specialist species, a species which can survive in multiple habitats or eats food from multiple sources...
than for example the
Gilded HummingbirdThe Gilded Hummingbird , also known as the Gilded Sapphire, is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is found in a wide range of open and semi-open habitats in southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina...
(
Hylocharis chrysura) or the
Sapphire-spangled EmeraldThe Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Amazilia lactea, is a species of hummingbird that occurs in Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil from the Amazon south to Santa Catarina; there are uncertain records from east Ecuador. Both male and female have a bright "sapphire" blue chest and chin and green-blue...
(
Amazilia lactea).
The food of this species is nectar, often taken from the flowers of large trees. This hummingbird is also notably insectivorous, often hovering in open areas to catch flying
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s. It appears to be somewhat picky regarding favorite foodplants and often does not visit
ornamental plantOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
s popular with many other hummingbirds, such as
Erythrina speciosaErythrina speciosa is a tree native to Brazil, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in Africa and India. It is pollinated by hummingbirds.- External links :*...
or
Stifftia chrysantha; certain ornamental
BignoniaceaeThe Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising of about 650-750 species in 116-120 genera. Members of the family are mostly trees and shrubs, and more rarely lianas and herbaceous plants in 116-120 genera. As shrubs, they are twine climbers or tendril...
like Fountain Tree (
Spathodea campanulata) seem more to this bird's liking. While feeding, it has been observed to dominate over a
Glittering-bellied EmeraldThe Glittering-bellied Emerald is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It was formerly listed by the scientific name Chlorostilbon aureoventris, but this was shown to be mistaken by Pacheco & Whitney ....
(
Chlorostilbon lucidus) and to be displaced by a Gilded Hummingbird, both considerably smaller species.
The Black-throated Mango's breeding season lasts almost year-round in most of its range. It builds a tiny cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare branch. For this it uses fluff like seed down, cladding the outside with
lichenLichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
. Nests are maybe 35–40 mm wide and 25–30 mm tall on the outside and some 25 mm wide and 10–15 mm deep inside. The two all-white eggs measure c.15 by 9.5 mm. They are incubated by the female for 16 or 17 days, and fledging takes another 24.
At a Black-throated Mango nest in Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve,
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
, it was noted that the tree was beset with
PseudomyrmexPseudomyrmex Kempf, 1972 is a genus of stinging, wasp-like ants in the family Formicidae.Species include:* Pseudomyrmex ferruginea* Pseudomyrmex flavidulus* Pseudomyrmex gracilis* Pseudomyrmex leptosus* Pseudomyrmex oculatus...
stinging
antAnts are social insects of the family Formicidae , and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants...
s. This was also noted at a Green-breasted Mango nest on San Andrés Island (
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
). It is likely that the ants would deter predators, but it is not known whether the birds deliberately select such trees for nesting.
External links