How To Enjoy Hummingbirds

The Green -throated Mango (Anthracothorax viridigula) is a hummingbird that breeds from northeastern Venezuela,Trinidad and the Guianas south to north eastern Brazil and northern Argentina. It is a local or seasonal migrant, although its movements are not well understood.

This small bird inhabits mangrove swamp and moist lowland savannah. It is 10.2cm long and weighs 9g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved.

The male has glossy bright green upperparts with a copper tinge, especially on the rump. His throat and under parts are green with a black central line on the breast and belly. The tail has dark central feathers, the outer tail being wine-red tipped with black.

The female Green -throated Mango has more bronze on the upperparts and flanks. She has white under parts with a black central stripe. The tail has dark central feathers, the outer tail being wine-red tipped with white. Immature males resemble females but have chestnut sides.

This species is very similar to the closely related Black-throated Mango. Although the male Green-throated 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-throated has more extensively coppery upperparts than its relative.

The female Green -throated Mango lays two white eggs in a deep cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare branch.

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 Green -throated Mango is a staccato stony click.