The Story
I photographed this Russet-throated Puffbird (Hypnelus ruficollis) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives only in Colombia and Venezuela, up to about 1,300 meters in Colombia. It eats mostly insects, along with small lizards and some fruit. It usually digs its nest burrow into a termite nest in a tree, and it sometimes uses the oven-shaped nest of a Pale-legged Hornero instead. It sings a rhythmic series of woduk notes, usually at dawn and often with both members of a pair joining in. 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 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. The lagoon is protected as the Charca de Guarinocito Integrated Management District.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Russet-throated Puffbird (Hypnelus ruficollis) belongs to the family Bucconidae (Puffbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List