The green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus'') is a species of
hummingbird
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 ...
in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
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 ...
. It is found in
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and most of the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
.
[HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip xls zipped 1 MBretrieved May 27, 2021]
Taxonomy and systematics
The green-throated carib was
formally described
A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...
by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in 1758 in the
tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...
'' under the
binomial name
In 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 grammatical forms, altho ...
''Trochilus holosericeus''. Linnaeus based his description on the "black-belly'd green huming bird" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist
George Edwards in 1743. The
type locality is the Lesser Antilles. The specific name is from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''holosērikos'' meaning "silken". The green-throated carib is now placed in the
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 ...
''
Eulampis
The caribs are a genus, ''Eulampis'', of hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae. The genus contains two species, both of which are endemic to the islands of the Caribbean. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek word ''eulampēs'' meaning 'b ...
'' that was introduced by the German zoologist
Friedrich Boie
Friedrich Boie (4 June 1789 – 3 March 1870) was a German entomologist, herpetologist, ornithologist, and lawyer.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universi ...
in 1831 and which it shares with the
purple-throated carib
The purple-throated carib (''Eulampis jugularis'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is resident on most of the islands of the Lesser Antilles and has occurred as a vagrant both further north and south.HBW and BirdLif ...
(''E. jugularis'').
[
Two ]subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), 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 (biology), morpholog ...
are recognized, the nominate ''E. h. holosericeus'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758) and ''E. h. chlorolaemus'' ( Gould, 1857).[
]
Description
The green-throated carib is a large hummingbird, long. Both sexes have a bright green back, though the female's is duller, and a bright green gorget
A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...
. The male's gorget has a blue border that is usually not apparent. Males and females have a black belly, a green vent area, and a dark blue tail that appears black in poor light. The underparts of subspecies ''E. h. chlorolaemus'' are somewhat darker than those of the nominate. Males have a medium length slightly decurved bill; the female's is longer and more strongly curved.[Farnsworth, A. (2020). Green-throated Carib (''Eulampis holosericeus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.grtcar1.01 retrieved January 19, 2022]
The calls include a sharp ''chup!'' or ''chuwp!''. During territorial disputes it sometimes makes rattles and whirs with its wings.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The green-throated carib is generally sedentary but some are known to move to wetter areas after the breeding season.[ The nominate subspecies is found from eastern Puerto Rico through the ]Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...
and the Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
chain as far as (but not including) Grenada
Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
. ''E. h. chlorolaemus'' is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Grenada. The species inhabits a variety of landscapes including wet forest, semi-deciduous
Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...
forest, cultivated areas, gardens, and parks. On Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
it is also found in drier habitat. On many islands it is most common near sea level though on Dominica
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
it is found mostly in foothills.[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The green-throated carib feeds on the nectar of a variety of flowering shrubs and trees. Males are believed to defend flowering feeding territories all year but females do so only in the non-breeding season. The species also feeds on small 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 such as insects and spiders, mostly caught on the wing.[
]
Breeding
The green-throated carib is believed to nest between March and July, and might depend on the timing of rain. Its nest is a cup lined with soft fibers and has lichen and bark chips attached to the outside. It is usually placed in the fork of a branch above the ground. The clutch is two eggs. The incubation time is 17 to 19 days with fledging
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight.
This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...
20 to 22 days after hatch. Birds first breed in their second year and may nest twice in a year.[
]
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-throated carib as being of Least Concern, though its population size and trend are not known.[ It has a restricted range but is described as common in much of it. The species "adapts well to human-affected habitats such as second growth gardens and vegetation around homes" but because its movement patterns are not fully understood, habitat fragmentation might be a threat.][
]
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1059558
green-throated carib
The green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is found in Puerto Rico and most of the Lesser Antilles.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World ...
Birds of the Lesser Antilles
green-throated carib
The green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is found in Puerto Rico and most of the Lesser Antilles.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World ...
green-throated carib
The green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is found in Puerto Rico and most of the Lesser Antilles.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot