Purple-throated Mountain-gem

About the Purple-throated Mountain-gem

The purple-throated mountaingem (Lampornis calolaemus) is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. The purple-throated mountaingem's taxonomy is somewhat unsettled. As late as 1999 various authors have treated it, the white-throated mountaingem (L. castaneoventris) and gray-tailed mountaingem (L. cinereicauda) as a single species. Others have kept the purple-throated separate but lumped the other two as a single species. These three species form a closely related group that evolved some 3.5 million years ago and has diversified since.

The purple-throated mountaingem currently (2022) is its own species with three subspecies, the nominate L. c. calolaemus, L. c. pectoralis, and L. c. homogenes. The purple-throated mountaingem is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long and weighs 4.5 to 6 g (0.16 to 0.21 oz).

Both sexes of all subspecies have a medium-length straight black bill, a white to pale buff stripe behind the eye, and a fairly long tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies L. c. calolaemus have a glittering emerald green to bluish green forehead and... Wikipedia →