The Story
I photographed this Swallow Tanager (Tersina viridis) at the Hotel Campestre Resguardos de Paz, near El Paujil, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It has a broad, flat bill, a short tail and short legs. Males are bright turquoise-blue with a black mask, while females are mostly grass-green. It eats fruit and insects, and it often snaps up more than one flying ant or termite from a swarm in a single flight. It nests in cavities, such as holes in earthen banks, stone walls or the walls of abandoned buildings. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400. It occurs in many protected areas, and it appears to do well in partly disturbed places.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Swallow Tanager (Tersina viridis) 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 2023), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List