The Story
I made this photo of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) at Hacienda Guadalajara in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. In Colombia it is found from sea level up to about 1,800 meters, including in young, brushy secondary forest. Like most hummingbirds it feeds on nectar and small insects. It is very territorial at flower patches and feeders, chasing off other hummingbirds and even large insects. Even so, it sometimes nests in loose colonies. Palmira lies on the east bank of the Cauca River and is a center of the valley’s large sugar mills.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. IUCN lists the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) 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