The Story
I made this photo of a Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) at Entreaguas Reserva Natural in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. Away from ant swarms it perches about 5 to 15 meters up and sallies out to snatch prey from leaves. Pairs build the nest, a small, loose cup of plant fibers. The usual clutch is two eggs. It often follows army ant swarms to catch insects fleeing the ants, staying within about 10 meters of the ground. The reserve lies in the Coello-Cocora area west of Ibagué, on the way toward Cajamarca, and its trails pass a series of waterfalls.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Gray-headed Tanager as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List