Amethyst-throated mountaingem

Description

The Amethyst-throated Mountain-gem or amethyst-throated hummingbird (Lampornis amethystinus) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. One confirmed sighting of a male Amethyst-throated hummingbird had occurred in West Texas by Cornell Lab of Ornithology on one of their online live webcams on October 15, 2016. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism where the males have a range of pink to blue throats and the females have a more tan colored throat. Juveniles of both sexes look similar to females but often with a few pink feathers on the throat. When compared to similar sister species, it appears the color differences between this and others was a relatively recent evolutionary occurrence. Generally the species focuses more on nectar than insects through traplining in under and midstory of forests. It is predominately unterritorial. Its mating call occurs during mornings and evenings. If a female is attracted, the male will perform an aerial display. It starts by flying parallel to the ground in circles, dives towards the female, returns to its perch, and repeats this a handful of times. The nests are built by the females a couple meters off the ground with a clutch size of two white eggs. The amethyst-throated mountaingem is 11.5 to 12.5 cm (4.5 to 4.9 in) long. Males weigh 5 to 7.8 g (0.18 to 0.28 oz) and females 5 to 5.8 g (0.18 to 0.20 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a medium-length straight black bill, dark auriculars, a whitish stripe behind the eye, and a broad slightly forked tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dark green crown and back, a bronze rump, and blackish uppertail coverts. The tail is black with gray tips on the outer feathers. It has a brilliant rosy pink gorget. The breast and belly are dusky gray and the undertail coverts pale buff. The female is almost the same but has a cinnamon throat. Juveniles are similar to females but males may have a few pink feathers on the throat. The amethyst-throated mountaingem feeds mostly on nectar, from a wide variety of flowering plants. It tends to feed in the lower and mid-story of the forest by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of nectar sources rather than defending patches of them. It also feeds on insects. They are subordinate to larger hummingbirds but dominant over smaller ones.