Black-throated Mango - Distribution and Ecology

Distribution and Ecology

It breeds from Panama south to northeasterm Bolivia, southern Brazil and northern Argentina. It is also common on both Trinidad and Tobago. It is a local or seasonal migrant, with some birds moving up to 1000 miles, although its movements are not well understood.

This small bird inhabits open country, gardens and cultivation. Though it will adapt to human activity, it seems less of a generalist than for example the Gilded Sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura) or the Sapphire-spangled Emerald (Amazilia lactea).

The food of this species is nectar, often taken from the flowers of large trees. This hummingbird is also notably insectivorous, often hovering in open areas to catch flying insects. It appears to be somewhat picky regarding favorite foodplants and often does not visit ornamental plants popular with many other hummingbirds, such as Erythrina speciosa or Stifftia chrysantha; certain ornamental Bignoniaceae like Fountain Tree (Spathodea campanulata) seem more to this bird's liking. While feeding, it has been observed to dominate over a Glittering-bellied Emerald (Chlorostilbon lucidus) and to be displaced by a Gilded Hummingbird, both considerably smaller species.

The Black-throated Mango's breeding season lasts almost year-round in most of its range. It builds a tiny cup nest on a high, thin, and usually bare branch. For this it uses fluff like seed down, cladding the outside with lichen. Nests are maybe 35–40 mm wide and 25–30 mm tall on the outside and some 25 mm wide and 10–15 mm deep inside. The two all-white eggs measure c.15 by 9.5 mm. They are incubated by the female for 16 or 17 days, and fledging takes another 24.

At a Black-throated Mango nest in Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve, Ecuador, it was noted that the tree was beset with Pseudomyrmex stinging ants. This was also noted at a Green-breasted Mango nest on San Andrés Island (Caribbean). It is likely that the ants would deter predators, but it is not known whether the birds deliberately select such trees for nesting.