The Story
I photographed this Indigo-capped Hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanifrons) at the Reserva Natural El Palmar, near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia, in October 2020. It lives mainly in north and central Colombia, including the Magdalena valley and the upper Cauca valley, and is most common between 1,000 and 2,000 meters. Adult males have an indigo-blue crown. It feeds on nectar and small insects at all heights, mostly high up, and builds a cup nest of moss, cobweb and lichen. It adapts well to man-made habitats. 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 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. Cortolima names the Indigo-capped Hummingbird among the ten most representative birds of Tolima as it promotes birding routes across the department.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Indigo-capped Hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanifrons) 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 2017), with the population trend listed as stable (listed by IUCN as Amazilia cyanifrons). Source: IUCN Red List
