Black-throated Mango

The Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) is a hummingbird that breeds from Panama south to northeasterm Bolivia, southern Brazil and northern Argentina. It is also common on both Trinidad and Tobago. It is a local or seasonal migrant, with some birds moving up to 1000 miles, although its movements are not well understood.

This small bird inhabits open country, gardens and cultivation. It is 10.2cm 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.

This species is very similar to the closely related Green-breasted Mango. 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 Black-throated lacks the more extensively coppery upperpart of its relative.

The female Black-throated Mango lays two white eggs in a tiny cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare branch. Incubation by the female is 16 or 17 days, and fledging another 24.

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 insects. 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.

References

• Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
• Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by ffrench, ISBN 0-7136-6759-1