The Story
This Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae) was photographed at Birdwatch La Conchita, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,950 meters. Its bill has a blackish upper mandible and a coral-red lower mandible with a dark tip. Males have a glittering violet-blue crown, and females have a less glittering, turquoise-blue to greenish crown. The species lives in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, from 600 to 2,100 meters. The female incubates two eggs for 19 to 24 days in a lichen-covered cup nest. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/250 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2023 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