Our Habitat continues our series on endemic birds in Jamaica this week with a look at the Jamaican Mango.

THE Jamaican mango, known scientifically as Anthracothorax mango, is a beautiful vision to behold.

It is a large dark, hummingbird with a long, black, slightly decurved bill. Its head and back are greeny bronze washed with magenta on its upper back and wing feathers. They grow up to 13 centimetres or five inches.

It is among the 30 species of birds endemic to Jamaica.

Diet:

The Jamaican Mango are nectar and insect feeders. They source their nectar from flowers of the bananas, coffee and cactus plants.

Breeding

They nest year round in mangroves.

Habitat

They are abundant in open, arid areas, the lowlands and near the coast. In point of fact, they may be found all across Jamaica.

Threats:

At the moment, the species is regarded as being of “least concern” in that it is not threatened with extinction (declining more than 30 per cent in 10 years or three generations).

Source: Bird Life International (2006) downloaded from www.birdlife.org on 27/4/2007; and Birds of Jamaica, by Audrey Downer and Robert Sutton

Our Habitat shares with you this week a poem about birds, written by Halima Jackson-Wilkins, a class three teacher at Wilbert Stewart Basic School. The poem, which emphasises the need to help preserve the local bird population was performed by students from Wilbert Stewart at the Jamaica Environment Trust’s (JET’s) annual Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival on April 20. Enjoy!

Jamaican Birds

Birds are beautiful creatures

This I must confess

But did you know, Jamaica

Has some of the very best

Like the Parrot and the Patoo

Our famous Doctor bird

The Tody and the Woodpecker

Their songs are always heard.

But somewhere there is a problem,

Some people don’t understand

How to care for all these birds

They live in our nation

Don’t destroy their homes, their habitats

By cutting down the trees

If someone put a saw to your home

You would be on your knees

Don’t stone them! Don’t hurt them!

Things like these must stop!

If you want some bird to eat

Chicken sells at the shop!

Birds are beautiful

This we know is true

And we thank all the JET people

For giving birds a hope renewed.

Birds

Jamaican birds

Oh, so beautiful!

– Halima Jackson-Wilkins