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Digital Tobago |
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Digital Photography |
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By Bob Brent |
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I Home I Digital Photography I Wildlife I About/Contact I Site Map I |
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AVIFAUNA INDEX : |
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Avifauna A - Z : Black-throated Mango |
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Order : Apodiformes |
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Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) |
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Name : Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) |
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The Apodiformes are made up of two distinct groups of aerial masters, the Swifts (Apodi) and Hummingbirds (Trochili). The Swifts being split into two families True Swifts (Apodidae) and Tree Swifts (Hemiprocnidae), The Hummingbirds are one family (Trochilidae). The feet in true Swifts are weak and they are unable to perch on wires or branches but cling to a vertical surface except when nesting. Swifts drink by swooping down at the surface of a body of water and take nesting materials and prey in full flight. Most courtship rituals take place on the wing and copulation is known to take place in full flight. Tree Swifts and Hummingbirds can perch, and some species can be highly territorial and will attack vastly larger birds such as Hawks, and even mammals such as Humans. |
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Hummingbirds are only found in the Americas ranging from southern Canada and Alaska to Tierre del Fuego, including the West Indies. Some northern American species migrate thousands of kilometres south, an amazing feat for such small birds, and certain species are increasingly migrating to eastern North America due to the hanging of artificial feeders in gardens, surviving in temperatures as low as -20%C. They are capable of hovering in mid air and they are the only bird that can fly backwards. All are nectar eaters being attracted to brightly coloured flowers, mainly red, and most take insects. Some species have developed special bills adapted to specific flowers. Unlike other birds the Hummingbirds wings connect at the shoulder and they can achieve between 15 and 80 beats per second depending on the size of the bird, the larger the bird, the slower the beat. The Bee Hummingbird of Cuba and the Isle of Pines is the smallest living bird, measuring around 5.5 cm and weighing 2g. |
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Length : 10 - 12 cm ( 4 - 5 in ) |
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The Black-throated Mango breeds from Panama south to north-eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina and southern Brazil, as well as Trinidad and Tobago. It is a local or seasonal migrant with some birds moving up to 1,000 miles, quite a feat for a bird that only weighs 7.2g. It is a bird of garden, open country with scattered trees and forest edges where it feeds on nectar from a variety of flowering plants and trees, and will also take insects. The male has glossy bright green upperparts, his throat and chest are matt black bordered with blue green. The female has bronze green upperparts, white underparts with a black central stripe, immature show some grey or buff feather tips on the head and wings. The fairly long bill is slightly decurved. The cup shaped nest is usually built on a thin bare branch quite high in a tree. |