Black-throated Mango vs Chiru

Anthracothorax nigricollis compared with Pantholops hodgsonii

Key Differences

  • Black-throated Mango is Least Concern while Chiru is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Black-throated Mango Chiru
Kingdom same Animalia (Animals) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same Chordata (Chordates) Chordata (Chordates)
Class Aves (Birds) Mammalia (Mammals)
Order Apodiformes (Apodiformes) Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family Trochilidae Bovidae (Bovids)
Genus Anthracothorax Pantholops
Species Anthracothorax nigricollis Pantholops hodgsonii

Evolutionary Relationship

Black-throated Mango and Chiru share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Black-throated Mango

LC — Least Concern

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Black-throated Mango Chiru
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-throated Mango

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Black-throated Mango

A large, striking hummingbird of tropical forests from southern Mexico to Argentina, black-throated mangos have dramatic sexual dimorphism — males display glittering black throat and breast with violet and green flanks and a bold purple tail, while females are white below with a central black stripe. Inhabiting forest edges, clearings, and gardens, they aggressively defend flowering trees. Males perform spectacular aerial display flights at treetop height. Listed as Least Concern across their broad neotropical range.

Chiru

The Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the Tibetan Antelope, is a bovid endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent high-altitude grasslands of China, with small populations in India. Males bear long, slender, nearly vertical horns that can exceed 70 centimetres in length, while females are hornless. The species is highly adapted to life at elevations of 3,700–5,500 metres, possessing a dense, fine underfur known as shahtoosh — one of the finest animal fibres in the world — which provided insulation against extreme cold but also made chiru a prime target for illegal poaching. Massive hunting pressure during the late twentieth century for shahtoosh shawl production devastated populations, which fell to as few as 75,000 individuals. Following intensified conservation efforts, trade bans, and anti-poaching patrols in China, numbers have partially recovered, though the species remains Near Threatened. Chiru are highly migratory; females undertake remarkable annual migrations of up to 300 kilometres to reach calving grounds in the Chang Tang plateau. Males typically remain at lower elevations year-round. They graze on grasses, sedges, and forbs, and face ongoing threats from climate change affecting high-altitude pasture productivity and from infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors.

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