The Story
I photographed this Scrub Tanager (Stilpnia vitriolina) at Entreaguas Reserva Natural in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. Its natural habitats include moist montane forest, high-elevation shrubland and heavily degraded former forest. It lives along all three Andean ranges of western Colombia and in the inter-Andean valleys of northern Ecuador, mainly between 500 and 2,500 meters. It uses scrub, open woodland, gardens and farmland in dry, semi-open country. It is not a forest bird, and it may be spreading into cleared areas. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima.
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 400, −1 EV. IUCN lists the Scrub Tanager as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Scrub Tanager (Stilpnia vitriolina) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List