Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is listed as Endangered on the basis that its declining population is very small and forms a single subpopulation.
Population justification
The population size has not been quantified directly. Based on the recorded population densities of congeners (Selasphorus calliope and S. platycercus: 15-75 mature individuals/km2 [Santini et al. 2018]), and assuming that around 10% of the range is occupied to account for the rarity of the species (G. Angehr in litt. 2020), the population is estimated to fall within the band 2,235-11,175 mature individuals. To account for uncertainty in the estimate, the species is here placed in the band 2,000-12,000 mature individuals. Given that the species appears to be rare (G. Angehr in litt. 2020), it is conceivable that the true population size is closer to the lower end of the estimate.
Trend justification
The population trend has not been assessed directly. The species is threatened by habitat loss; however forests within the range are largely inaccessible and declines in tree cover are local and low (G. Angehr in litt. 2020, Global Forest Watch 2020). Given that the species is able to survive in degraded and secondary forests (G. Angehr in litt. 2013), forest loss is currently unlikely to drive rapid population declines. Local declines have however been observed in Veraguas (E. S. Jakub in litt. 2020). As the species is confined to a small range close to mountaintops, it is potentially vulnerable to climate change-related range shifts (G. Angehr in litt. 2020). Precautionarily, it is assumed that the species may be undergoing population declines in the future as suitable habitat is contracting at mountaintops. The rates of habitat loss and population declines have not been projected, but it is unlikely that they will exceed 10% over ten years.
Selasphorus ardens is restricted to west and central Panama in the Serranía de Tabasará (eastern Chiriquí and Veraguas provinces) and possibly the highlands of the Azuero Peninsula. In Chiriquí, it has been recorded on Cerro Flores and Cerro Colorado (adjacent peaks in the Cerro Santiago massif), but recently only from Cerro Colorado (Ridgely and Gwynne 1989, Wege and Long 1995, Montañez 1999). In Veraguas, there are records from Cerro Tute (a few sightings in the 1980s, see Dyer and Vallely 2017) and Calovévora (presumably Pico Calovevora just north of Santa Fe). It is poorly known, apparently rare and difficult to locate (G. Angehr in litt. 2020). Based on movement patterns in other Selasphorus hummingbirds, this species may undergo seasonal movements and not be present at a site year-round (G. Angehr in litt. 2020). In 1994, Selasphorus hummingbirds were mist-netted and a specimen taken on Cerro Hoya, in the Azuero Peninsula, Los Santos (Engleman 1994). In 2016, three males and one female were collected in Cerro Hoya National Park (Buitrago-Rosas et al. 2019); despite their morphological similarity to S. ardens (G. Angehr in litt. 2020) it could not be established whether the specimens belong to this species (D. Buitrago in litt. 2020).
This species is found mainly in shrubby growth in clearings and forest borders at elevations of 1,200 m and above. It is not thought able to persist in areas where forest has been completely cleared (G. Angehr in litt. 2013). Ecological requirements remain largely unknown (Stiles and Sharpe 2016).
Although the species can survive in disturbed and secondary forest, it probably cannot if the forest is completely removed for pasture (G. Angehr in litt. 2013). Forest in eastern Chiriquí is becoming fragmented, and the Serranía de Tabasará is generally threatened by subsistence agriculture, clearance for coffee plantations, cattle-grazing, over-use of pesticides and fires (Alvarez-Cordero et al. 1994, G. Angehr in litt. 2007). Deforestation for cattle pastures is severely affecting the core of the species's range in the area of Cerro Santiago (G. Angehr in litt. 2007, 2013). Given the restriction of this species to higher elevations close to the maximum elevations in the mountain ranges it inhabits, it is likely to be severely threatened by range shifts and contractions caused by global climate change, which is likely causing population declines (G. Angehr in litt. 2020).
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. Santa Fe National Park was established in 2001 and protects part of the species's range (although recent records of the species are lacking), but it still has inadequate staff and resources (G. Angehr in litt. 2007, 2020). The Panama Audubon Society has opened discussions with communities in the Ngobe-Bugle Comarca (Indigenous Homeland) with regard to protection of the region of Cerro Santiago (G. Angehr in litt. 2007). Cerro Hoya National Park protects the possible population on the Azuero Peninsula (Wege and Long 1995, Angehr 2003).
7 cm. Tiny, distinctive hummingbird. Green above with bronze sheen. Dark primaries. Black tail with rufous edging. Pink-red gorget. Cinnamon below with white breast-band, central breast and belly. Short, straight black bill. Female has buff throat speckled grey. Rufous tail with green central rectrices, black subterminal band and buff tips. Immature like female but with rusty fringes to crown and nape feathers. Similar spp. Male Scintillant Hummingbird S. scintilla has red-orange gorget and rufous tail. Female S. scintilla is paler below and has more rufous edging on central rectrices.
Text account compilers
Hermes, C.
Contributors
Angehr, G., Benstead, P., Buitrago, D., Isherwood, I., Jakub, E., Sharpe, C.J. & Taylor, J.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Glow-throated Hummingbird Selasphorus ardens. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/glow-throated-hummingbird-selasphorus-ardens on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.