The Story
I photographed this female Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. She paused briefly on a textured branch. Light filtered through the canopy, softening shadows and bringing out the emerald tones of her head and the warm copper of her breast. Females lack the male’s long tail, and they have bronzy green upperparts and a bluish green crown. The species feeds on nectar and insects, mostly in the treetops at lower elevations. Its nest is a bulky dome of moss and plant fibers with a side entrance, hidden by leaves. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/1000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800. La Minga sits in the cloud forest of the Kilometer 18 area, about an hour from Cali.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
