The green-breasted mango or Prevost's mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) is a species in subfamily Polytminae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found from eastern Mexico south through most of Central America, in Colombia and Venezuela, and as a vagrant in the United States.

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 Anthracothorax. As of early 2023, worldwide taxonomic systems assign these four subspecies to it:

  • A. p. prevostii <small>(Lesson, 1832)</small>
  • A. p. gracilirostris <small>Ridgway, 1910</small>
  • A. p. hendersoni <small>(Cory, 1887)</small>
  • A. p. viridicordatus <small>Cory, 1913</small>

A fifth subspecies previous assigned to the green-breasted mango, iridescens, is now a subspecies of the black-throated mango (A. nigricollis).

thumb|left|Male, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica (flash photo)

thumb|left|Female, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica (flash photo)

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 A. p. prevostii have metallic bronze 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 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 are dusky purple. Nominate females have less bronzy metallic green on the crown, nape, and upperparts than males. Their innermost pair of tail feathers 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. Single birds have strayed to Cabarrus County, North Carolina in 2000; Rock County, Wisconsin in 2007, Laurens County, Georgia in 2007 into 2008; and Caddo Parish, Louisiana in 2009.

References

Further reading

  • del Hoyo, Josep et al. eds. (1999): Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. <small></small>
  • Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. <small></small>
  • Ridgely, Robert S. (1976): A Guide to the Birds of Panama. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. <small></small>
  • Williamson, Sheri L. (2001): A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America. Peterson Field Guide Series, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. <small></small>