Barbthroat Explained

The barbthroats are a genus Threnetes of South American hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Threnetes was introduced in 1852 by the English ornithologist John Gould.^[1] The name is from the Ancient Greek thrēnētēs meaning "mourner".^[2] The type species is the pale-tailed barbthroat.^[3] The genus contains three species.^[4]

The supposed "black barbthroats", described as T. grzimeki, are actually juvenile males of the rufous-breasted hermit (Glaucis hirsuta).

Notes and References

1. Book: Gould, John . John Gould . 1852 . A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds . 1 . London . self . Plates 13, 15 and text (Part 4 Plates 14, 15) . The 5 volumes were issued in 25 parts between 1849 and 1861. Title pages of all volumes bear the date of 1861.
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 385 .
3. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1945 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 5 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 5–6 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2020 . Hummingbirds . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 8 January 2020 .