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Mellisuga helenae
– Near Threatened
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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AVES
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Order:
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APODIFORMES
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Family:
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TROCHILIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Mellisuga helenae
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Species Authority:
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(Lembeye, 1850)
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Synonym/s:
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Calypte helenae (Lembeye, 1850)
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Common Name/s:
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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NT ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2004
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Assessor/s:
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BirdLife International
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Evaluator/s:
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Stattersfield, A., Benstead, P. & Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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Nearly qualifies for listing as threatened under criteria A2c; B1ab(i,ii,iii,v); C2a(i).
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History:
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| 1988 | - | Threatened (Collar and Andrew 1988) |
| 1994 | - | Lower Risk/near threatened (Collar, Crosby and Stattersfield 1994) |
| 2000 | - | Lower Risk/near threatened (BirdLife International 2000) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Mellisuga helenae is endemic to Cuba and formerly Isla de la Juventud, with a patchy distribution including Habana, Sierra de Anafe, Guanahacabibes Peninsula, Zapata Swamp, Moa, Mayarí and the coast of Guantánamo3. It is found primarily in coastal forests and forest edge, but also in mountain valleys, forests of the interior, swamplands and gardens3. Although formerly common and widespread, it is now rare and localised3. This is principally the result of habitat modification and destruction3. Much of Cuba's natural vegetation has been converted to cultivation and pasture for cattle, with only 15-20% of land remaining in its natural state2, and the recent expansion of cacao, coffee and tobacco production poses a further serious threat1. CITES Appendix II.
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Countries:
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Native:
Cuba
Vagrant:
Bahamas
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Habitat and Ecology
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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| 1.6 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland |
| 1.8 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Swamp |
| 1.9 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane |
| 14.6 | Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest |
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Threats
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1.1.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Crops - Agro-industry farming (ongoing) |
| 1.1.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Non-timber plantations (ongoing) |
| 1.1.4.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock - Agro-industry (ongoing) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places:
For References from A–L.
For References from M–Z. BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K. BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Collar, N.J. and Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch. The ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds. ICBP Technical Publication No. 8. Page Bros. (Norwich) Ltd, Norfolk, England. Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. and Stattersfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2. The World List of Threatened Birds BirdLife International. Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd, U.K. IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
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