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Lampornithini

Lampornithini is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lampornithini rather than just read about it. In short: Lampornithini is one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Mellisugini (bees) and Trochilini (emeralds).

Lampornithini — main illustration
Lampornithini — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Lampornithini belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Lampornithini to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Lampornithini from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lampornithini is one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Mellisugini (bees) and Trochilini (emeralds). The informal name "mountain gems" has been proposed for this group. The largest genus Lampornis contains eight species with "mountaingem" in their common name. The tribe contains 18 species divided into 7 genera.

Phylogeny A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family was composed of nine major clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen Jr. updated the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World for the 4th edition in 2013 they based their classification on these results and placed three of the nine clades in the subfamily Trochilinae. The clades were placed in separate tribes which were named Lampornithini (mountain gems), Mellisugini (bees), and Trochilini (emeralds). The tribe Lampornithini with the current circumscription was introduced in 2009. A subfamily based on the genus Lampornis was introduced by William Jardine in 1833. The name Lampornithinae was used by Charles Bonaparte in 1842. Molecular phylogenetic studies by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published between 2007 and 2014 determined the relationships between the major groups of hummingbirds. In the cladogram below the English names are those introduced in 1997. The Latin names are those proposed by Dickinson and Remsen in 2013.

The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera in the tribe Lampornithini. It is based on the molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014. The genera Sternoclyta and Hylonympha were not sampled.

Taxonomic list The tribe contains 7 genera.

References

Sources

Illustrations

Lampornithini illustration
Lampornithini illustration
Lampornithini illustration
Lampornithini illustration
Lampornithini illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lampornithini

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lampornithini claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lampornithini before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lampornithini ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lampornithini

In research
Lampornithini appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Lampornithini in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Lampornithini is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird tribes, Hummingbirds, Lampornithini, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Lampornithini outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Lampornithini in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Lampornithini means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Lampornithini out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lampornithini in simple terms?

Lampornithini is one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Mellisugini (bees) and Trochilini (emeralds).

Why does Lampornithini matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lampornithini?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lampornithini.

Tags

  • Bird tribes
  • Hummingbirds
  • Lampornithini

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