Bird Guide

Green-throated Mountaingem vs White-bellied Mountaingem

Green-throated Mountaingem (Lampornis viridipallens)

Green-throated Mountaingem

Lampornis viridipallens

Tiny5 gForest

The green-throated mountaingem is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs about 5.4 g (0.19 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a straight black bill, a white stripe behind the eye above a dark cheek, and a slightly forked tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have green upperparts with a bronzy rump and bluish black uppertail coverts. Their central tail feathers are black and the rest pale gray. Their throat is white with bluish green spots, their breast white, their belly grayish with green spots on the sides and flanks, and their undertail coverts dusky gray. Voice: What is thought to be the green-throated mountaingem's song is "a complex warble of squeaky notes and buzzy, gurgling trills, 'tsee-tsee-glr-tsee-glr-tsee-glugluglugluglu-glr-glr-tsee'." Its calls include "a hard, buzzy 'zzrrt', a short 'tsik' and high-pitched thin 'see'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Fernando Bautista · CC BY 4.0
White-bellied Mountaingem (Lampornis hemileucus)

White-bellied Mountaingem

Lampornis hemileucus

Tiny6 gForest

The white-bellied mountaingem is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh about 6.2 g (0.22 oz) and females 5.1 g (0.18 oz). Both sexes have a medium-length black bill, a long white stripe behind the eye, and pinkish feet. Adult males' face and crown are glittering green, much of the rest of the upperparts bronzy green, and the uppertail coverts bronzy. The tail is also bronzy, with dusky gray bands near the end of the outer feathers. The gorget is blue-violet and the rest of the underparts white with green speckles along the sides. Voice: The white-bellied mountaingem's song is "a medley of squeaks, dry or liquid trills, and sputtering notes." When chasing it makes "squeaky sputtering trills". Other calls include "a repeated, somewhat nasal 'deep' rattling sequences 'de-de-drrrrr'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Theo Rickert · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Green-throated Mountaingem and White-bellied Mountaingem.