White-throated Hummingbird Leucochloris albicollis Scientific name definitions

The White-throated Hummingbird is a contrasting green-and-white hummingbird of open areas from eastern Bolivia and central Brazil south to northern Argentina. It is largely iridescent green, with a white throat and white belly separated by a broad green collar. The bill is black with a largely red mandible. It feeds on nectar from flowers of a variety of plant species in forest edge, marshes, clearings, and developed areas. Its cup-shaped nest is placed on a branch.

10–11·5 cm; male 5–8 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), female 4·5 g. Male  has bill straight, medium-sized, maxilla blackish , mandible flesh-red with dark tip; upperparts golden to bronze-green  ; chin and throat brilliant green with white feather margins; cheeks and breast brilliant green to golden-green; throat patch oval, white; flanks and belly golden to bronze-green; centre of belly white; undertail-coverts white, basally with bronze-green to brownish centres; uppertail-coverts and inner rectrices golden to brilliant green, lateral rectrices becoming blackish green with white terminal bands. Female  similar to male, but has less glittering plumage  . Juvenile has underparts more greyish brown, less white; rectrices tipped brownish.

E Paraguay, SE Brazil (SE Minas Gerais and S Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul), Uruguay and NE Argentina (Misiones, N Buenos Aires); possibly also E Bolivia.

Found along forest edges and in marshy habitats; also in open areas with scrub, or parks and gardens ; from near sea-level to 1000 m, but occasionally recorded much higher, with one record from 2100 m (Serra do Caparaó, Espírito Santo/Minas Gerais border) (2 Vasconcelos, M.F. (2003). A avifauna dos campos de altitude da Serra do Caparaó, estados de Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo, Brasil. Cotinga. 19: 40–48. Close ).

Forages for nectar at various native and introduced plant species; often seen at Leguminosae (Dahlstedtia, Erythrina (3 Aximoff, I. A., and L. Freitas (2009). Composição e comportamento de aves nectarívoras em Erythrina falcata (Leguminosae) durante duas florações consecutivas com intensidades diferentes. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 17(3–4):194–203. Close ), Inga, Dioclea), Apocynaceae (Mandevilla), Acanthaceae (Mendoncia), Rubiaceae (Manettia), Lobeliaceae (Lobelia), Heliconiaceae, Agavaceae (Phormium), Bromeliaceae (Aechmea (4 Favretto, M.A., Hoeltgebaum, M.P., Lingnau, R. and D’Agostini, F.M. (2010). Beija-flores visitantes de bromélias no Parque Natural Municipal Rio do Peixe, Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 158: 11–13. Close ), Billbergia (4 Favretto, M.A., Hoeltgebaum, M.P., Lingnau, R. and D’Agostini, F.M. (2010). Beija-flores visitantes de bromélias no Parque Natural Municipal Rio do Peixe, Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 158: 11–13. Close ), Nidularium, Vriesea) and also recorded at Euphobiaceae (Mabea) (5 Olmos, F. and Boulhosa, R.L.P. (2000). A meeting of opportunists: birds and other visitors to Mabea fistulifera (Euphorbiaceae) inflorescences. Ararajuba. 8(2): 93–98. Close ) and Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus) (6 Antunes, A.Z. (2003). Partilha de néctar de Eucalyptus spp., territorialidade e hierarquia de dominância em beija-flores (Aves: Trochilidae) no sudeste do Brasil. Ararajuba. 11(1): 39–44. Close ); also visits introduced plants, including Citrus, Malvaviscus, Abutilon and Salvia. Insects are caught by hawking. Under controlled experiments, using artificial feeders , L. albicollis preferred pure nectar nectar or nectar supplemented with avian vitamins or minerals, although vitamin-supplemented solution was only marginally second preference (7 Bouchard, S., Vonhof, M.J., Fenton, M.B. and Monette, G. (2000). Nutrient preferences of Brazilian hummingbirds. Wilson Bull.. 112(4): 558–562. Close ).

Song a series of 4–10 high-pitched, buzzy notes, with emphasis on the first, “bzeeeee-bzee-bzee-bzee-bzee”. Also more complex combinations of chips and squeaky warbles. Calls include dry chips and a high-pitched descending metallic rattle.

Oct–Mar. Nest  cup-shaped, and consists of plant down and moss, externally decorated with lichens  fixed with cobweb; built on horizontal branches of smaller trees and bushes; nest height 50 mm, external diameter 40 mm, internal diameter 32 mm (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Clutch size two white eggs  , size 16 mm × 9 mm, mass 0·65 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); incubation 14 days, by female  ; fledging period 20–25 days.

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Especially common in SE parts of range where widely adapted to man-made habitats. Range extension at SW limits of distribution; recent spread has been proven for Argentina, where now regularly occurs as breeder in provinces of Buenos Aires , Córdoba and Mar del Plata, and is common in periurban areas (8 Leveau, C. M., and L. M. Leveau (2005). Avian community response to urbanization in the Pampean region, Argentina. Ornitología Neotropical 16(4): 503–510. Close ); additional records from E Bolivia. Current status and southern limits in Uruguay remain unclear.