The Story
I photographed this Blue-headed Sapphire (Chrysuronia grayi) at Finca La Conchita, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. It lives in inter-Andean valleys from Colombia’s Valle del Cauca south into Ecuador, and it is also called Gray’s hummingbird. Males have a deep glittering blue face and crown and a coral-red bill with a black tip. It lives in dry scrub, woodland edges and farmland, mostly between 500 and 2,000 meters. Several may gather at a flowering treetop, where they are notably aggressive. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, −0.7 EV. Much of its native habitat has been turned into farmland, but it seems able to use altered, open and cultivated areas.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-headed Sapphire (Chrysuronia grayi) 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 2022), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List