2019 new name
Blue-throated Hummingbird is now Blue-throated Mountain-gem
In 2019 Blue-throated Hummingbird got a new name: Blue-throated Mountain-gem. It is the same bird, the hummingbird of the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas.
Updated
What changed
Nests in the mountains of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, in the Chisos Mountains of west Texas, and in the mountains of Mexico.
Why the name changed
The AOS gave all the birds of its group, the genus Lampornis, one shared group name: mountain-gem.
It also wanted fewer birds to carry the plain group name “hummingbird”.
Who decided, and when
- American Ornithological Society (AOS): the 60th Supplement to its Check-list of North American birds
- eBird and the Clements Checklist: its 2019 taxonomy update
- AviList, the shared world checklist: agrees, writing it Blue-throated Mountaingem
Which bird is it?
There is nothing new to tell apart: Blue-throated Hummingbird and Blue-throated Mountain-gem are the same bird.
What it does to your list
A new name only: your Blue-throated Hummingbird now counts as Blue-throated Mountain-gem.
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