Green-breasted Mango

Costa Rica

Jul 17

Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii)

Name Origin:
The genus Anthracothorax comes from Greek anthrax (“coal”) and thorax (“chest”), referring to the dark metallic coloration of many mango hummingbirds. The species epithet prevostii honors Florent Prévost, a 19th-century French naturalist and illustrator who contributed to tropical avifaunal studies.

Quick Facts

🪶 Length: 10–11.5 cm (3.9–4.5 in)
⚖️ Weight: 6.0–7.0 g (0.21–0.25 oz)
🌎 Range: Eastern Mexico to northern South America and the western Caribbean
🧭 Elevation: Sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small insects
🏡 Habitat: Open woodland, mangroves, plantations, and gardens
🧬 Clade: Polytmini “Mangoes” (large tropical hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN 2024)

Subspecies & Distribution

Four subspecies:

1. Anthracothorax prevostii prevostii
Distribution: Eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas south through Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula), Belize, and northern Guatemala. Often migratory within its northern range, moving seasonally in response to flowering cycles.

2. Anthracothorax prevostii viridicordatus
Distribution: Caribbean slope of Central America, from eastern Honduras and Nicaragua south to eastern Costa Rica and western Panama.

3. Anthracothorax prevostii gracilirostris
Distribution: Pacific slope of southern Costa Rica and western Panama, including Chiriquí.

4. Anthracothorax prevostii hendersoni
Distribution: Isla de Providencia (Colombia) in the western Caribbean — a small, isolated insular population.

Species Overview

The Green-breasted Mango is a large, luminous hummingbird recognized by its long, slightly curved bill, gleaming green plumage, and distinctive dark ventral stripe. It thrives in tropical lowlands, coastal zones, and human-influenced landscapes such as plantations and gardens. Highly adaptable and seasonally mobile, it remains one of the most frequently observed Anthracothorax species across Mesoamerica.

Male Description:
The male displays metallic emerald-green upperparts, a dark blue-green central stripe running from the throat to the belly, and violet uppertail coverts. The tail is bronze-violet to purplish, slightly forked, with a blue gloss.

Female Description:
The female is green above with whitish underparts, bisected by a distinct black stripe extending from chin to vent. The tail is bronze-purple with white tips on the outer feathers, and the bill is slender and slightly decurved.

Habitat & Behavior:
Occupies open and semi-open tropical habitats, including coastal forests, mangroves, dry woodland, gardens, and shade plantations. Feeds on nectar from Inga, Heliconia, Hamelia, and ornamental flowering trees. It also hawks small insects in flight for protein. The Green-breasted Mango exhibits moderate territoriality and often visits feeders in suburban settings.

Conservation Note:
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the Green-breasted Mango is widespread and stable. It adapts readily to disturbed environments and urban gardens, though deforestation of coastal lowlands and habitat conversion to intensive agriculture remain local threats. Protected within several reserves, including La Amistad International Park (Costa Rica/Panama), Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico), and Cahuita National Park (Costa Rica). Continued protection of flower-rich coastal forests will help sustain the species throughout its range.

Below is the Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii viridicordatus)

Photographed at Rancho Naturalista and Tranki_Garden, Cartago, Costa Rica

This individual belongs to the subspecies viridicordatus, which occurs along the Caribbean slope of Central America from eastern Honduras through Nicaragua to eastern Costa Rica and western Panama. It inhabits forest edge, gardens, and plantations, often near flowering Inga and Erythrina trees, from sea level to about 1,200 meters.