The green-breasted mango or Prevost's mango is a species in subfamily Polytminae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found from eastern Mexico south through most of Central America, in Colombia and Venezuela, and as a vagrant in the United States.
Region
Mesoamerica to northern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Mexico south through most of Central America and into northern South America, including Colombia and Venezuela. Most common in lowlands and foothills along the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean slopes, with local presence on the Pacific slope in parts of Central America. Uses edges and clearings of humid forest, second-growth, mangroves, plantations, and urban parks. Often perches conspicuously on wires or exposed branches near flowering trees and shrubs.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A large, bold hummingbird, the green-breasted mango shows a distinctive dark central stripe running from throat to belly. Males have glittering bluish-green underparts flanked by bronzy-green, while females show white underparts sharply bisected by a dark stripe. It readily uses gardens, plantations, and coastal mangroves and often visits nectar feeders. It occasionally wanders to the United States Gulf Coast as a vagrant.
Male, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica (flash photo)
Female, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica (flash photo)
Temperament
territorial and bold
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with sustained hovering
Social Behavior
Typically solitary at feeders and flowering trees, with males defending rich nectar sources against intruders. Courtship involves aerial chases and display flights. The female builds a small cup nest of plant down bound with spider silk on a horizontal branch, laying two eggs and raising the young alone.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Produces high, sharp chips and buzzy twitters, especially when agitated or defending territory. Wingbeats create an audible hum; vocalizations include short trills and chatters delivered from exposed perches.
Plumage
Iridescent green to bronzy-green upperparts with a long, straight dark ventral stripe. Male shows glittering blue-green breast and belly bordering the dark stripe; female has white underparts crisply divided by the dark stripe with green flanks that may show rufous edges. Tail is dark bluish with a slight fork, often showing purple-blue gloss. Long, slender, slightly decurved black bill.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from a variety of tubular flowers such as Inga, Erythrina, and Heliconia, and readily visits hummingbird feeders. Supplements diet with small insects and spiders caught by hawking from perches or gleaning near flowers. Uses traplining along regular routes between flowering plants.
Preferred Environment
Forages at forest edges, gardens, mangroves, and open woodlands, from understory to canopy. Common around flowering trees and ornamental plantings in towns and agricultural landscapes.
