The Story
I photographed this Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. It is found from Mexico through every mainland South American country, in shrubby weedy fields, field edges and roadsides. It feeds mainly on grass seeds. The male jumps up from a perch again and again while giving a wheezing call, a display that earned it the local name johnny jump-up, though the show also draws predators to nests. During the breeding season, males defend small territories of about 13 to 73 square meters. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200, +0.3 EV. The lagoon is protected as the Charca de Guarinocito Integrated Management District.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List
