The Story
I photographed this Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) at Finca La Conchita, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. It is widespread and often common in highland forests of the Andes and the Venezuelan Coastal Range. It is golden-yellow overall with black on the back, wings, tail and ear coverts. It lives between 700 and 2,500 meters and is most common between 1,000 and 1,500 meters. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. La Conchita, La Florida, Bosque de Niebla and Alejandría are four birding farms along a 3-kilometer stretch of the San Antonio cloud forest, a Key Biodiversity Area.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, −0.7 EV. Its population is decreasing, and it is threatened by habitat destruction.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) 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 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
