LC
Vervain Hummingbird Mellisuga minima



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2024 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency medium
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 198,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size unknown - - -
Population trend decreasing - suspected -
Generation length 2.1 years - - -

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'common' (Stotz et al. 1996). This species is considered to have a medium dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 8.8% within its mapped range over the past 10 years (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Therefore, as a precautionary measure, it is tentatively suspected that this loss of cover may have led to a decline of between 1-19% in the species' population size over the same time frame.

Trend justification:   .


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Cayman Islands (to UK) extant native yes
Dominican Republic extant native yes
Haiti extant native yes
Jamaica extant native yes
Puerto Rico (to USA) extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Dominican Republic Armando Bermudez National Park
Dominican Republic Cabral Lagoon
Dominican Republic Cotubanamá
Dominican Republic Eastern Bahoruco
Dominican Republic Ebano Verde Scientific Reserve
Dominican Republic Enriquillo Lake National Park
Dominican Republic Haitises National Park
Dominican Republic Honduras
Dominican Republic Jaragua National Park
Dominican Republic Loma Quita Espuela
Dominican Republic Nalga de Maco-Río Limpio
Dominican Republic Parque Nacional Dr Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier (Valle Nuevo)
Dominican Republic Parque Nacional Montaña La Humeadora
Dominican Republic Punta Cana
Dominican Republic Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
Dominican Republic Sierra de Neyba
Dominican Republic Sierra Martin Garcia National Park
Haiti Aux Diablotins
Haiti Citadelle - Grottes Dondon
Haiti Coquillage - Pointe Est
Haiti Les Grottes
Haiti Trou Caïman
Jamaica Black River Great Morass
Jamaica Blue Mountains
Jamaica Bluefields
Jamaica Catadupa
Jamaica Cockpit Country
Jamaica Dolphin Head
Jamaica Font Hill
Jamaica Hellshire Hills
Jamaica John Crow Mountains
Jamaica Litchfield Mountain - Matheson's Run
Jamaica Mount Diablo
Jamaica Negril
Jamaica Portland Ridge and Bight
Jamaica Yallahs

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Rural Gardens suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest major resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland major resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Moist suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 1600 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture international

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Vervain Hummingbird Mellisuga minima. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/vervain-hummingbird-mellisuga-minima 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.