The Story
I photographed this Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii) at La Florida El Bosque de las Aves, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,990 meters, in February 2021. Light dappling through the canopy both lit and shaded it, and I liked the gradation of greens and reds, the rough, mossy perch and its sharp glance. Males have a red head, an orange to yellow breast and a white belly, with a white collar separating the head from the olive green back. Females vary by subspecies, with a crown from dull orange to green. The species is found from Costa Rica and Panama to Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/1500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −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.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii) belongs to the family Capitonidae (New World Barbets) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
