The green-breasted mango or Prevost's mango (''Anthracothorax prevostii'') is a species in subfamily

Polytminae Polytminae is one of the six subfamily, subfamilies of the hummingbird family (biology), family Trochilidae. The subfamily contains 12 genera with a total of 29 species. The informal name "mangoes" has been proposed for this group as the seven s ...

of the hummingbird family

Trochilidae Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

. It is found from eastern Mexico south through most of Central America, in Colombia and Venezuela, and as a

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...

in the United States.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The green-breasted mango was originally described as ''Anthracothorax prevostii'', was later placed in genera '' Polytmus'' and '' Lampornis'', and in 1854 was returned to

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Anthracothorax''.Juárez, R., K. Huffstater, M. d. C. Arizmendi, C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, and C. A. Soberanes-González (2022). Green-breasted Mango (''Anthracothorax prevostii''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gnbman.02 retrieved February 2, 2023 As of early 2023, worldwide taxonomic systems assign these four subspecies to it:Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 *''A. p. prevostii'' (

Lesson A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

, 1832) *''A. p. gracilirostris'' Ridgway, 1910 *''A. p. hendersoni'' ( Cory, 1887) *''A. p. viridicordatus'' Cory, 1913 A fifth subspecies previous assigned to the green-breasted mango, ''iridescens'', is now a subspecies of the black-throated mango (''A. nigricollis''). The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

commemorates the French naturalist Florent Prévost. Green-breasted Mango 4

Description

The green-breasted mango is long and weighs . Both sexes of all subspecies have a slightly decurved dull black bill. Adult males of the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

''A. p. prevostii'' have metallic

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

green crown, nape, and upperparts. Their innermost pair of tail feathers are dull dusky bronze green to dull coppery bronze, and the outer four pairs are shades of purple with a metallic gloss. Their

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

are dusky brownish slate. They have a velvety black stripe down their chin, throat, and chest with metallic bluish green beside it. Their sides and flanks are bronze green and their undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

are dusky purple. Nominate females have less bronzy metallic green on the crown,

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , ). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nuchal rigidity'' ...

, and upperparts than males. Their innermost pair of tail

feathers Feathers are epidermis (zoology), epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both Bird, avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in ...

are dull dusky bronze green to dull coppery bronze like the male's, but the outer four pairs are blue-black with a wide purple base and whitish tips. They have the same velvety black chin and throat stripe as males but it becomes bluish green on the breast, dusky on the belly, and has a white border. The rest of their underparts are metallic green but for dusky undertail coverts with wide white edges. Juveniles are similar to adult females but have a white chin, throat, and center of the breast with some chestnut beside it. Subspecies ''A. p. gracilirostris'' has a shorter and thinner

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

than the nominate. Its upperparts and sides are less bronzy, its underside stripe is wider and bluish black, and its undertail coverts are darker. ''A. p. hendersoni'' also has a shorter bill than the nominate. It has an ashy tinge on the crown and a longer and thinner bluish black stripe. ''A. p. viridicordatus'' has bright grass green upperparts, olive green central tail feathers, and darker undertail coverts than the nominate.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of green-breasted mango are found thus: *''A. p. prevostii'', from

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

and southern

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

in Mexico south to Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador *''A. p. gracilirostris'', from El Salvador south through Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica into northwestern Panama's

Bocas del Toro Province Bocas del Toro (; meaning "Mouths of the Bull") is a Provinces of Panama, province of Panama. Its area is 4,643.9 square kilometers, comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Al ...

*''A. p. hendersoni'', Providencia and San Andrés islands off the coast of Nicaragua (but belonging to Colombia) *''A. p. viridicordatus'', extreme northeastern Colombia and coastal Venezuela from the

Guajira Peninsula The Guajira Peninsula (, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, ) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernmost peninsula in South America and has an area of exte ...

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

state Many individuals of the nominate subspecies have wandered to the United States. Since 1988 there have been at least 25 records in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Single birds have strayed to

Cabarrus County Cabarrus County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in 2000; Rock County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in 2007, Laurens County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in 2007 into 2008; and Caddo Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in 2009. The green-breasted mango inhabits a variety of landscapes in the lowland tropics, most of them semi-open to open. These include shrublands with trees, savanna,

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

, and the edges of denser forest. It also occurs in cultivated areas, parks, gardens, and suburban and urban areas. In elevation it mainly occurs from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

to but occurs locally as high as in Central America.

Behavior

Movement

The population of the green-breasted mango that breeds from

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

north withdraws from there between September and February, generally to the Pacific slope from southern Mexico to El Salvador. The rest of the species is essentially sedentary though some post-breeding dispersal is expected.

Feeding

The green-breasted mango forages for nectar and

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s at all levels of its habitat, from the understory to the canopy. Its nectar sources have not been detailed but include a wide variety of flowering trees, vines,

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a Family (biology), family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and on ...

s, shrubs, and

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

s; it also frequents sugar water feeders. It does not appear to favor flowers of any particular colors. It takes nectar while hovering. It takes insects and spiders by hawking from a perch and by gleaning from vegetation and spider webs.

Breeding

The green-breasted mango's breeding season varies geographically. In the northern part of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

slope it is between March and June. In

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

it is from October to February. Further south in Central America it appears to nest at any time of the year. The species often rears two broods in a year. The female builds a

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

of soft plant fibers with

tree bark Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consist ...

and

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

on the outside and sometimes small feathers as a lining; all is held together with

spider silk Spider silk is a protein fibre or silk spun by spiders. Spiders use silk to make webs or other structures that function as adhesive traps to catch prey, to entangle and restrain prey before biting, to transmit tactile information, or as nest ...

. It usually builds the nest on a bare horizontal branch as high as up in a tree, but nests have also been noted on human-made substrates such as wires, fences, and antennas. The clutch size is two eggs. The female alone incubates the clutch and cares for nestlings. The incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The green-breasted mango is not highly vocal. Its song is "a buzzy and repetitive ''tsi si-si-si si-si-si''" with up to 17 notes. Its calls include a "short, high, and sharp ''sip'' or ''sik''" in flight, a "harsh chipping, ''chik chik chik''" while feeding or perched, and a "high, shrill, slightly tinny twittering" during

agonistic An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agoni ...

encounters.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the green-breasted mango as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of at least a half million mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. Because the species is common in human-modified landscapes like agricultural fields, parks, and residential areas, and even favors them in some places, "in the short term, this species may benefit from deforestation and the landscapes that result from anthropogenic intervention." The green-breasted mango is protected in the U.S. under the

Migratory Bird Treaty Act The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1918 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Canada. ...