The tepui goldenthroat is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
Region
Guiana Shield Tepuis
Typical Environment
Occurs on tepui slopes and adjacent highlands of southern Venezuela, western Guyana, and northern Brazil (Roraima). It favors shrubby tepui vegetation, white-sand heath and scrub, edges of montane forest, and open clearings with abundant flowers. It also visits gallery-forest margins and rocky outcrops where flowering shrubs and bromeliads are common. Local movements follow blooming cycles, but it is not known to undertake long migrations.
Altitude Range
600–1600 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The tepui goldenthroat is a highland hummingbird of the Guiana Shield, where it frequents shrublands and edges on and around tepui table-mountains. Males flash a brilliant golden-bronze throat that can appear dull until the light catches it at the right angle. It often perches conspicuously and defends rich flower patches. Though tied to highland habitats, it can use natural clearings and edges created by rock outcrops.
Temperament
active and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Typically solitary away from breeding, defending small nectar territories around flowering shrubs. Courtship involves aerial chases and display perching where the male shows the glittering throat. Nests are small cup structures placed on horizontal branches or sheltered forks, lined with soft plant fibers and camouflaged with lichens.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives thin, high-pitched tsee and tzip notes, often in rapid series around feeding sites. Wing hum is audible at close range, and males sometimes emit a soft buzzy trill during display flights.
Plumage
Bronzy-green upperparts with a glittering golden-bronze throat; underparts pale gray to whitish with a light greenish wash on the flanks. Tail medium length with greenish central feathers and narrow whitish tips. Feathers show strong iridescence, especially on the throat and crown in good light.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from flowering shrubs and small trees, including ericads, melastomes, and bromeliads typical of tepui scrub. It follows blooming cycles and will repeatedly visit productive flowers in a traplining or small-territory pattern. In addition to nectar, it gleans small arthropods from foliage and occasionally hawks tiny insects in short sallies for protein.
Preferred Environment
Forages along shrub-dominated slopes, forest edges, rocky clearings, and white-sand heath with scattered flowering plants. Often uses exposed perches to watch over flower patches and to launch short feeding flights.
