The Story
I photographed this Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae) at Ukuku Rural Lodge in Juntas, Tolima, Colombia. Besides nectar, it catches insects by flying out from a perch. Its cup nest is made of tree-fern scales and plant fibers bound with spiderweb, with lichen on the outside. Breeding activity has been recorded at almost every time of year. It forages by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of nectar sources. Juntas is a rural district of Ibagué in the Combeima Canyon, a buffer zone of Los Nevados National Natural Park where more than 300 bird species have been recorded.
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 6400. IUCN lists the Andean Emerald as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List