Lampornis clemenciae

(Lesson, 1829)

Blue-throated Mountain-gem

G5Secure Found in 5 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105629
Element CodeABNUC34040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix II
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderApodiformes
FamilyTrochilidae
GenusLampornis
Other Common Names
Blue-throated Hummingbird (EN) Colibri à gorge bleue (FR) Colibrí Garganta Azul (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2015-05-21
Change Date1996-12-02
Edition Date2015-05-21
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of OccurrencesUnknown
Rank Reasons
Large range in southwestern United States and Mexico; presumed large population size; probably relatively stable; no known major threats, though locally the species may be vulnerable to various kinds of detrimental habitat alteration.
Range Extent Comments
Breeding range extends from northern Sonora, southeastern Arizona, Chihuahua, and western Texas south through Coahuila, Durango, and western Mexico to Oaxaca and (possibly) Chiapas; recorded (mostly in summer) in southwestern and central Colorado (AOU 1998). Winter range extends from southern Sonora (casually southeastern Arizona) and Chihuahua south through the breeding range in Mexico (AOU 1998). Elevational range in Mexico is mainly 1,800-3,000 meters, but local nesting at elevations as low as 1,460 meters has been documented in Arizona (Corman and Wise-Gervais 2005).
Occurrences Comments
The number of distinct occurrences or subpopulations has not been determined using standardized criteria, but this species is represented by a large number of observation/collection sites (e.g., see GBIF database, eBird) and locations (as defined by IUCN).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threat impacts have been documented, but the species may be vulnerable to various forms of detrimental habitat alteration. Populations at the northwestern edge of the range are confined to a few narrow, moist canyons in the higher mountains; this habitat specificity may make them vulnerable to destruction or degradation of riparian corridors through logging, grazing, mining, water diversion, and/or introduction of exotic plants (Williamson 2000). Fire suppression increases threat of destruction of riparian forests by catastrophic fire (Williamson 2000). In Mexico, the species’ affinity for forest understory makes it vulnerable to logging, which threatens forests throughout the Sierra Madre region; replanting of burned and clear-cut forests with 1 or 2 tree species of high market value and resulting loss of biodiversity may impact habitat and food availability (Williamson 2000).

On the other hand, these hummingbirds commonly nest in altered habitats and may place nests on buildings or other structures. They regularly visit feeders.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes pine-oak forest, pine forest, and montane evergreen forest edge; in migration also visits flowers in open situations and gardens (AOU 1998). This species occurs along edges of montane conifer forests in the highlands of Mexico and in the shady understory of deciduous streamside forests (often including sycamores in Arizona) in canyons of the “sky island” mountain ranges of the southwestern United States (Williamson 2000). Nests are along streams, under bridges, in caves, or in and around buildings; nest sites often are completely covered from above.

Ecology

Male defends feeding territory against intrusions by other males and other species of hummingbird; dominates most other hummingbirds.

Reproduction

Egg dates: April-July in Arizona; apparently varies in different areas in Mexico. Clutch size 2. Incubation 17-18 days. Young fledge in 24-29 days. Apparently up to 3 broods per season in Arizona. See Johnsgard (1983).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest EdgeWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - Mixed
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3B
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS2B,S2NYes
ArizonaS2BYes
TexasS3BYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureLarge - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
3 - Energy production & miningNegligible (<1%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useSmall (1-10%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsNegligible (<1%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesSmall (1-10%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherLarge - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

Roadless Areas (5)
Arizona (4)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
References (17)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Baltosser, W. H., and P. E. Scott. 1996. Costa's Hummingbird (<i>Calypte costae</i>). No. 251 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Amerian Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 32pp.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  5. Bleiweiss, R., J. A. W. Kirsch, and J. C. Matheus. 1994. DNA-DNA hybridization evidence for subfamily structure among hummingbirds. Auk 111:8-19.
  6. Corman, T. E., and C. Wise-Gervais, editors. 2005. Arizona breeding bird atlas. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. x + 636 pp.
  7. García-Moreno, J., N. Cortés, G. M. García-Deras, and B. E. Hernández-Baños. 2006. Local origin and diversification among Lampornis hummingbirds: A Mesoamerican taxon. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38:488-498.
  8. Johnsgard, P. A. 1983c. Hummingbirds of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 304 pp.
  9. Marshall, J. T., Jr. 1957. Birds of pine-oak woodland in southern Arizona and adjacent Mexico. Pacific Coast Avifauna. No. 32. 125 pp.
  10. Montgomerie, R. D. 1979. Energetics of foraging and competition in some tropcial hummingbirds. Ph.D. dissertation, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
  11. Ortiz-Pulido, R. and R. Díaz. 2001. Distribución de colibríes en la zona baja del centro de Veracruz, México. Ornitologia Neotropical 12:297-317.
  12. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  13. Partners in Flight Science Committee (PIF). 2013. Population Estimates Database, version 2013. Available at http://rmbo.org/pifpopestimates.
  14. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  15. Powers, D. R., and S. M. Wethington. 1999. Broad-billed Hummingbird (<i>Cynanthus latirostris</i>). No. 430 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 20pp.
  16. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  17. Williamson, S. L. 2000. Blue-throated hummingbird (<i>Lampornis clemenciae</i>). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/531.