Green-breasted Mango
Encyclopedia
The Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) is a hummingbird
from tropical America
. The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French naturalist Florent Prévost
.
species are 11–12 cm in length. Males average 7.2 g, females, 6.8 g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved. The tail in both sexes has dark central feathers. In adult males, the outer tail feathers are deep magenta to wine purple tipped with black. In females and juvenile males, the outer tail feathers are broadly banded in magenta and iridescent dark blue, with narrow white tips on the outer 3–4 feathers.
The adult male has glossy bright green upperparts. His throat and chest have a relatively narrow matte black central area, bordered with blue-green. The flanks are bright green, and the black of the chest tapers onto the belly.
Females and immature males have bronze-green upperparts and largely white underparts with a dark central stripe that changes from black at the chin to blue-green on the throat. Immature birds of both sexes usually show some gray or buff feather edges on the head and wings and are mottled with cinnamon to rusty brown along the edges of the white breast-belly stripe. Immature females have less extensive magenta in the outer tail feathers than adult females or immature males.
The call of the Green-breasted Mango is a high-pitched tsup, and the song is a buzzing kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee.
This species is very similar to the closely related Black-throated Mango
. Although the male Green-breasted Mango has less 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 Green-breasted has more extensively coppery upperpart tones than its relative.
. In western and central Panama
, it is replaced by the possibly conspecific Veraguan Mango
Anthracothorax veraguensis. Disjunct populations occur along the northern coast of South America from extreme northeastern Colombia
through northernmost Venezuela
, in the upper Cauca River
Valley of southwestern Colombia
, and on the coastal slope of southwestern Ecuador
and extreme northwestern Peru
.
The species is partially migratory, occupying its breeding range in northeastern Mexico (southwestern Tamaulipas
and eastern San Luis Potosí
to southern Veracruz
and extreme western Tabasco
) from late February through September. Other movements are poorly understood, but the wide separation of populations in South America suggests a species-wide propensity to travel and/or a more continuous distribution during periods when South America's climate was warmer and drier.
Young birds are responsible for the majority of occurrences in the United States. The first Green-breasted Mango documented north of Mexico was photographed in coastal Texas in September 1988. The species has since become an increasingly frequent vagrant and extremely rare resident in the lower Rio Grande
Valley of southern Texas.
Only three individuals have been documented in the U.S. outside Texas, all visiting feeders at private homes: a juvenile male in Concord, North Carolina
in November 2000, a juvenile male in Beloit, Wisconsin
first identified in September 2007, and a juvenile bird, possibly a male, in Dublin, Georgia
, in October 2007. Neighbors of the Wisconsin bird's hosts report that the bird had been visiting their feeders since late July. On November 5, 2007, the Beloit Green-breasted Mango was captured to prevent its death from winter weather. Against the advice of hummingbird experts, the bird was transferred from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the Wisconsin Humane Society to the Brookfield Zoo
, near Chicago, which elected to confine the bird permanently with five hummingbirds already in its Perching Bird House.
The species inhabits tropical deciduous forest, open landscapes with scattered large trees, orchards, gardens, and cultivated areas, but its distribution is spotty and often localized.
Like all hummingbirds, it feeds on insects and other invertebrates and nectar. Prey is often taken in mid-air
but may also be gleaned
from vegetation or stolen from spider webs (a behavior known as kleptoparasitism
). Favorite nectar sources include the flowers of large trees such as Inga
, Erythrina
, and Ceiba
or kapok
.
The female Green-breasted Mango lays two white eggs in a tiny cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare, branch. The exterior of the nest is camouflaged with chips of lichen
and other plant fragments. Incubation by the female is 16 to 17 days, and the nestling period last another 24.
At a Green-breasted Mango nest on San Andrés Island (Caribbean), it was noted that the tree was beset with Pseudomyrmex
stinging ant
s. This was also noted at a Black-throated Mango nest in Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve
, Ecuador. It is likely that the ants would deter predators, but it is not known whether the birds deliberately select such trees for nesting.
, a.k.a. International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and categorized as a species of Least Concern
.
The species is not currently protected in the U.S. under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Proposed revisions to the act, published in the Federal Register
on August 24, 2006, would extend protection to this and 85 other species of accidental or casual occurrence in the United States, Puerto Rico
, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. The revisions had not been approved as of November 2007, which allowed the capture and permanent captivity of the Wisconsin Green-breasted Mango to proceed without federal approval.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
from tropical America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French naturalist Florent Prévost
Florent Prévost
Florent Prévost was a French naturalistPrévost was assistant naturalist at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. He was the author of various zoological works, including Les Pigeons par Madame Knip and, with C. L...
.
Description
Adults of this medium-sized hummingbirdHummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
species are 11–12 cm in length. Males average 7.2 g, females, 6.8 g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved. The tail in both sexes has dark central feathers. In adult males, the outer tail feathers are deep magenta to wine purple tipped with black. In females and juvenile males, the outer tail feathers are broadly banded in magenta and iridescent dark blue, with narrow white tips on the outer 3–4 feathers.
The adult male has glossy bright green upperparts. His throat and chest have a relatively narrow matte black central area, bordered with blue-green. The flanks are bright green, and the black of the chest tapers onto the belly.
Females and immature males have bronze-green upperparts and largely white underparts with a dark central stripe that changes from black at the chin to blue-green on the throat. Immature birds of both sexes usually show some gray or buff feather edges on the head and wings and are mottled with cinnamon to rusty brown along the edges of the white breast-belly stripe. Immature females have less extensive magenta in the outer tail feathers than adult females or immature males.
The call of the Green-breasted Mango is a high-pitched tsup, and the song is a buzzing kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee-kazick-kazee.
This species is very similar to the closely related Black-throated Mango
Black-throated Mango
The Black-throated Mango is a mainly South American hummingbird species.-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...
. Although the male Green-breasted Mango has less 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 Green-breasted has more extensively coppery upperpart tones than its relative.
Distribution and ecology
This species breeds from eastern and southern Mexico south through Central America, including some near-shore islands, to Costa RicaCosta Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. In western and central Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central 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 Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, it is replaced by the possibly conspecific Veraguan Mango
Veraguan Mango
The Veraguan Mango is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family.It is found in Panama and recently in Costa Rica ....
Anthracothorax veraguensis. Disjunct populations occur along the northern coast of South America from extreme northeastern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
through northernmost Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, in the upper Cauca River
Cauca River
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...
Valley of southwestern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and on the coastal slope of southwestern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador 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, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and extreme northwestern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
The species is partially migratory, occupying its breeding range in northeastern Mexico (southwestern Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
and eastern San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
to southern Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
and extreme western Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
) from late February through September. Other movements are poorly understood, but the wide separation of populations in South America suggests a species-wide propensity to travel and/or a more continuous distribution during periods when South America's climate was warmer and drier.
Young birds are responsible for the majority of occurrences in the United States. The first Green-breasted Mango documented north of Mexico was photographed in coastal Texas in September 1988. The species has since become an increasingly frequent vagrant and extremely rare resident in the lower Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
Valley of southern Texas.
Only three individuals have been documented in the U.S. outside Texas, all visiting feeders at private homes: a juvenile male in Concord, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in November 2000, a juvenile male in Beloit, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
first identified in September 2007, and a juvenile bird, possibly a male, in Dublin, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, in October 2007. Neighbors of the Wisconsin bird's hosts report that the bird had been visiting their feeders since late July. On November 5, 2007, the Beloit Green-breasted Mango was captured to prevent its death from winter weather. Against the advice of hummingbird experts, the bird was transferred from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the Wisconsin Humane Society to the Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
The Brookfield Zoo is zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. The zoo covers an area of and houses around 450 species of animals....
, near Chicago, which elected to confine the bird permanently with five hummingbirds already in its Perching Bird House.
The species inhabits tropical deciduous forest, open landscapes with scattered large trees, orchards, gardens, and cultivated areas, but its distribution is spotty and often localized.
Like all hummingbirds, it feeds on insects and other invertebrates and nectar. Prey is often taken in mid-air
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
but may also be gleaned
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
from vegetation or stolen from spider webs (a behavior known as kleptoparasitism
Kleptoparasitism
Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism is a form of feeding in which one animal takes prey or other food from another that has caught, collected, or otherwise prepared the food, including stored food...
). Favorite nectar sources include the flowers of large trees such as Inga
Inga
Inga is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. Ingas leaves are pinnate, and flowers are generally white...
, Erythrina
Erythrina
Erythrina is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, growing up to in height...
, and Ceiba
Ceiba
Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America, South America, The Bahamas, Belize and the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia...
or kapok
Kapok
Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae , native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and to tropical west Africa...
.
The female Green-breasted Mango lays two white eggs in a tiny cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare, branch. The exterior of the nest is camouflaged with chips of lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
and other plant fragments. Incubation by the female is 16 to 17 days, and the nestling period last another 24.
At a Green-breasted Mango nest on San Andrés Island (Caribbean), it was noted that the tree was beset with Pseudomyrmex
Pseudomyrmex
Pseudomyrmex is a genus of stinging, wasp-like ants in the family Formicidae . They are large eyed, slender ants with an arboreal habitat. They are found exclusively in the New World in tropical and subtropical regions...
stinging ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, 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. More than...
s. This was also noted at a Black-throated Mango nest in Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve
Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is a humid tropical rainforest protected zone in Ecuador. It is situated in the Putumayo Canton in the Sucumbíos Province and in the Aguarico Canton in the Orellana Province. It was founded on 26 July 1979. At an altitude of 200– 280 meters, one of the principle...
, Ecuador. It is likely that the ants would deter predators, but it is not known whether the birds deliberately select such trees for nesting.
Conservation status
The Green-breasted Mango has been evaluated by the World Conservation UnionWorld Conservation Union
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List, compiling information from a network of...
, a.k.a. International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and categorized as a species of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.
The species is not currently protected in the U.S. under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Proposed revisions to the act, published in the Federal Register
Federal Register
The Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies...
on August 24, 2006, would extend protection to this and 85 other species of accidental or casual occurrence in the United States, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. The revisions had not been approved as of November 2007, which allowed the capture and permanent captivity of the Wisconsin Green-breasted Mango to proceed without federal approval.
External links
- Green-breasted Mango videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Green-breasted Mango; RangeMaps & Article InfoNatura NatureServe