Green-breasted Mountaingem

Overview

The green-breasted mountaingem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Honduras and Nicaragua. It has sometimes been considered conspecific with its close relative the green-throated mountaingem or may form a superspecies with it.

Identification

• Adults of both sexes have deep metallic grass green upperparts with some bronze on the rump and black uppertail coverts, a white stripe curving down behind the eye, and deep metallic grass green cheeks with a thin white stripe below them.
• Males have metallic grass green underparts with white or grayish white feather margins, a white lower belly and vent area, and grayish black central tail feathers with pale gray outer feathers having dusky margins.
• Females have a buff chin and throat, grayish white underparts with metallic green on the sides of the breast, and outermost tail feathers that are white or grayish white with a dusky gray bar near the end.
• Song is "a soft, scratchy warble...often with a trill at the end," and both sexes give "short, buzzy 'shrrrt' calls" while feeding.

Habitat

The green-breasted mountaingem is found in central and eastern Honduras and northwestern Nicaragua. It inhabits the interior and edges of humid evergreen and pine-oak forest and also the transition zone from the latter into cloudforest, generally between 1,400 and 2,200 m in elevation, though some sources extend that range to 750–2,400 m.

Diet

The green-breasted mountaingem feeds on nectar and small insects and spiders, but details of its diet and foraging techniques are lacking.

Did you know?

The green-breasted mountaingem is thought to make seasonal elevational movements, and its breeding season is approximately November to February, though almost nothing is known about its breeding phenology.