The Story
The shot
This Steely-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei) was at the Jardín Botánico del Quindío in Calarcá, Quindío, Colombia when I photographed it on July 17, 2018. The Steely-vented Hummingbird is relatively common across its range, which covers Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It lives in forest clearings, second growth and cultivated areas at low to mid elevations, and males forage on flowers in low shrubs and tree crowns. The garden’s butterfly house is a large open-air vivarium, home to more than 30 butterfly species native to Colombia. IUCN lists the Steely-vented Hummingbird as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
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 200. The regional environmental agency, the CRQ, has also entrusted the garden with eight hectares of natural forest in the Barbas Bremen forest reserve, near Filandia and Circasia.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Steely-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
