Polytmus milleri

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Superordo: Caprimulgimorphae
Ordo: Apodiformes

Familia: Trochilidae
Subfamilia: Trochilinae
Genus: Polytmus
Species: Polytmus milleri
Name

Polytmus milleri (Chapman, 1929)

Type locality: Mt. Duida, 4700 ft, Venezuela.

Synonyms

Waldronia milleri (protonym)
Agyrtria milleri (Chapman, 1929)

References

Chapman, F.M. 1929. Description of new birds from Mt. Duida, Venezuela. American Museum Novitates 380: 1–28. The American Museum of Natural History, New York. hdl: 2246/3988 Open access PDF.Reference page. p.14

Vernacular names
English: Tepui Goldenthroat
español: Colibrí de tepui
português: beija-flor-de-tepui

The tepui goldenthroat (Polytmus milleri) is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.[4][5]
Taxonomy and systematics

The tepui goldenthroat was at one time placed in the monotypic genus Waldronia that was later merged into Polytmus.[6] It is monotypic.[4]
Description

The tepui goldenthroat is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long. Males weigh 4.5 to 6.1 g (0.16 to 0.22 oz) and females 4.1 to 5 g (0.14 to 0.18 oz). Males have bronzy green upperparts and glittering green underparts. The tail is shades of green with a wide white band at the base and white tips. The area around the eye is dusky gray with white streaks above and below it. The female is smaller than the male and has dull white underparts heavily dotted with golden-green, especially on the breast. Juveniles are like the adults but with buffy edges to the head's feathers.[7]
Distribution and habitat

The tepui goldenthroat is found only on the eponymous tepuis of southern and southeastern Venezuela and slightly into western Guyana and extreme northern Brazil. On these isolated flat-topped mountains it inhabits the edge of cloudforest and scrublands with scattered trees at elevations between 1,300 and 2,200 m (4,300 and 7,200 ft).[7]
Behavior
Movement

The tepui goldenthroat is generally sedentary but makes some elevational dispersal after breeding.[7]
Feeding

The tepui goldenthroat is "trap-line" feeder, visiting a circuit of a variety of flowering plants for nectar. It also catches insects on the wing and gleans spiders from vegetation and rock cavities.[7]
Breeding

The tepui goldenthroat breeds in May and June. It builds a cup nest lined with fine fibers and decorated on the outside with lichen. It places it in a branch fork of a shrub, typically between 0.5 and 1 m (1.6 and 3.3 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation time is 15 to 16 days.[7]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to tepui goldenthroat on xeno-canto
Vocalization

The tepui goldenthroat gives a "loud series of 'tsit' or 'tizzie' notes" while foraging.[7]
Status

The IUCN has assessed the tepui goldenthroat as being of Least Concern, though its population size and trend are unknown.[1] It is considered uncommon to locally common in its restricted range.[7]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Tepui Goldenthroat Polytmus milleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22687485A93154296. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22687485A93154296.en. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Chapman, 1929. Waldronia milleri (protonym). Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 380, p. 14. link
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021
Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021
Schuchmann, K.L., P. F. D. Boesman, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Tepui Goldenthroat (Polytmus milleri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tepgol1.01 retrieved December 16, 2021