Mango Gorginegro vs Common Spindle

Anthracothorax nigricollis compared with Euonymus europaeus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Mango Gorginegro	Common Spindle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Celastrales (Celastrales)
Family	Trochilidae	Celastraceae
Genus	Anthracothorax	Euonymus
Species	Anthracothorax nigricollis	Euonymus europaeus

Conservation Status

Mango Gorginegro

LC — Least Concern

Common Spindle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Mango Gorginegro	Common Spindle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Mango Gorginegro

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Common Spindle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand).

Mango Gorginegro

Un colibrí grande y llamativo de los bosques tropicales desde el sur de México hasta Argentina, los mangos gorginegros presentan un marcado dimorfismo sexual: los machos exhiben una garganta y pecho negro brillante con flancos violáceos y verdes y una llamativa cola morada, mientras que las hembras son blancas por debajo con una franja negra central. Habitan bordes de bosque, claros y jardines, donde defienden agresivamente los árboles en floración. Los machos realizan espectaculares vuelos de exhibición a la altura del dosel forestal. Catalogada como Preocupación Menor en toda su amplia área de distribución neotropical.

Common Spindle

<em>Euonymus europaeus</em>, commonly known as the common spindle, is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Celastraceae, native to Europe and western Asia. This species typically inhabits woodland edges, hedgerows, scrubland, calcareous grassland margins, and riverbanks, preferring well-drained soils on chalk and limestone but tolerating a variety of substrates. Its geographic range extends across most of Europe from the British Isles and Scandinavia south to the Mediterranean, and eastward through the Caucasus into western Asia. Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, <em>Euonymus europaeus</em> maintains stable populations throughout its native range. The species is particularly notable for its striking autumn display of bright pink to crimson four-lobed capsular fruits that split to reveal orange-coated seeds, providing an important food source for robins, blackcaps, and other birds. The seeds are toxic to humans and many mammals. The plant typically grows to 2–6 metres in height and produces small inconspicuous greenish-white flowers in spring. Biological traits such as average individual lifespan, precise body dimensions, and specific weight measurements remain poorly documented at the population level for this shrub. The hard, fine-grained wood has historically been used for making spindles and skewers, giving rise to the common name.