The Story
I made this photo of a Speckled Hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys), of the subspecies cervina, at the Recinto del Pensamiento in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia. In Ecuador it lives on both the eastern and western slopes of the Andes, from subtropical forest at about 1,400 meters up to cloud forest at 3,000 meters. It does not live or migrate in flocks, and there is no pair bond in this species. The reserve’s trails pass a hummingbird viewpoint, a butterfly house, an orchid forest and the Pabellón Zeri, built of guadua and regional woods. IUCN lists the Speckled Hummingbird as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600, +1 EV. The reserve belongs to the Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de Caldas and is run by the Corporación para el Desarrollo de Caldas to promote nature tourism in Manizales.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Speckled Hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys) 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
