The Story
This Steely-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei) was photographed at Birdwatch La Conchita, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,950 meters. Adult males are golden green above and glittering golden green below, with greenish to steel-blue undertail coverts, while females have some white on the throat and grayish-brown undertail coverts. The species lives in Colombia and Venezuela. The subspecies saucerottei is found in western Colombia, including the Cauca River valley. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/4000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 1600, −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.
©2023 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