Hispaniolan mango

The Hispaniolan mango was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Trochilus dominicus. Linnaeus based his description on the "colibry de S. Domingue" that was described and illustrated by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The type locality is in the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola (and not the island of Dominica). The Antillean mango is now placed in the genus Anthracothorax that was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1831. ==Description==

Hispaniolan mangoes are long; males weigh and females . Adult males have shiny bronze-green upperparts. The chin and throat are metallic green and the rest of the underparts velvety black with a bluish tinge. The tail is mostly violet; the inner webs of the feathers are coppery and the tips blue-black. The female's upperparts are also shiny bronze-green. Its underparts are grayish lightening to pale white on the abdomen. The tail is reddish violet with broad black marks near the end; the outermost feathers have white tips. The juvenile is thought to be like the female but with a black line down the center of the underparts. ==Distribution and habitat==

The Hispaniolan mango is found throughout Hispaniola and several of its small offshore islands. It inhabits a variety of both moist and dry landscapes including clearings, gardens, shade coffee plantations, secondary forest, and coastal shrublands. It occurs generally below but is found (though rarely) as high as . ==Behavior==

Movements The Hispaniolan mango is resident throughout its range. Breeding The Hispaniolan mango's breeding phenology has not been studied; most information is anecdotal. It is believed to breed at any time of the year. The nest is a cup of soft plant fibers bound with spider silk and covered on the outside with lichens and bark flakes. It is usually placed in a tree or shrubs. The clutch size is two eggs. Vocalization The Hispaniolan mango is thought to be mostly silent, and its song has not been described. The calls include "a repeated short tsip" and "a high-pitched liquid trill". ==Status==

The IUCN has assessed the Hispaniolan mango as being of Least Concern, though its population size and trend are not known. It generally common in coastal areas and is abundant in dry areas. It has been extirpated from some small offshore islands. ==References==