Also known as: Colibri Madère (FR); Madè, Fou-fou (local).
A Lesser Antillean hummingbird
The Purple-throated Carib (Eulampis jugularis) is a large, vividly coloured hummingbird found on most islands of the Lesser Antilles and endemic to that chain. At about 11.5 cm it is one of the larger Caribbean hummingbirds.
Identification
Adults are mostly black with emerald-green wings and tail, a bluish rump, and an iridescent purple throat and breast. The bill is long, black and strongly down-curved. Both sexes share the same colours, but the female’s bill is longer and more sharply curved than the male’s, and the male is the larger bird. Because the throat colour is structural, the iridescent purple can flare brilliantly or appear nearly black depending on the angle of light.
Diet and ecology
Like all hummingbirds the Purple-throated Carib feeds on nectar — especially from Heliconia flowers — supplemented by small insects, and will use garden feeders where available. The marked difference in bill shape between the sexes is linked to feeding on different Heliconia species, a textbook example of sex-based ecological specialisation: males and females effectively partition the food supply, each favouring the flower shape that best matches its bill.
The species is strongly territorial around good nectar sources, and individuals will aggressively defend a productive stand of flowers against other hummingbirds. This combination of large size, long curved bill and territorial behaviour makes it one of the most conspicuous hummingbirds across its range.
Range and habitat
The Purple-throated Carib occurs through most of the Lesser Antilles, from the northern islands down to Grenada, and is absent from the Greater Antilles entirely. It ranges from coastal gardens and plantations up into wet montane forest, following the flowering of its preferred plants through the seasons and altitudes. Because it is widespread and adaptable, it remains common across the island chain and is assessed as Least Concern — a reassuring contrast to many of the region’s rarer endemics.
