The Story
This Red-billed Emerald (Chlorostilbon gibsoni) was at Fincas Verdes in San Antonio, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. In Colombia it lives mostly below 500 meters, but it reaches 2,300 meters in the upper Magdalena valley. It usually feeds close to the ground, on small flowers that are less attractive to larger hummingbirds. It is considered uncommon, but it is probably not threatened because its dry habitat is not heavily used. Birds recorded around San Antonio include threatened species such as the Yellow-eared Parrot and the Spot-winged Parrotlet. San Antonio lies in southern Tolima, about 109 km from Ibagué.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. IUCN lists the Red-billed Emerald as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Red-billed Emerald (Chlorostilbon gibsoni) 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
