The Story
This female White-booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) was photographed at Birdwatch La Conchita, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,950 meters. Females have green upperparts and white leg puffs but lack the male’s long tail with its racket tips. Male White-booted Racket-tails are 11 to 15 centimeters long, including a tail of 7 to 8 centimeters. The species builds a tiny cup nest of plant fiber and lichen, usually 6 to 8 meters up on a horizontal twig. It is most numerous between 1,600 and 2,200 meters. 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 1/1500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600, −1 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) 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
