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Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter
from the September 18, 2011 Newsletter issued from Mayan Beach Garden Inn 20 kms north of Mahahual; Caribbean coastal beach and mangroves, ~N18.89°, ~W87.64°, Quintana Roo state, MÉXICO
A POP-UP MANGO
While making the above photographs, in the bushes off to my left, a small, slender, rusty-hued bird popped up from dense cover onto a dead limb, then for a few seconds perched stiffly erect giving me the eye, before disappearing. I had time for one shot, which is seen below:
Once that image was on my laptop screen, what a surprise to see that it was a hummingbird. Moreover, it was a hummingbird colored unlike any I've seen around here.
Eventually work with the field guide revealed the little fellow as an immature Green-breasted Mango, ANTHRACOTHORAX PREVOSTII. Neither the adult male or female of that species display a reddish zone bordering the white throat area. Howell's illustration of an immature Green-breasted Mango's rusty sides is way off, not showing them gradually blending with adjacent colors, so maybe our photo will be helpful to later field-guide writers.
Green-breasted Mangos are distributed from southern Mexico to Venezuela and Peru.