The Story
This male Blue-headed Sapphire (Chrysuronia grayi) perched in profile on a slender branch in the Andean foothills at Mirador Barlovento above Pradera, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in soft late-afternoon light. His head shows intense violet-blue iridescence that turns to emerald and turquoise across the body, and his long bill is coral red. It is one of Colombia’s more localized hummingbirds, found in inter-Andean valleys from Valle del Cauca south into Ecuador, mostly between 500 and 2,000 meters. It seems able to use altered, open and cultivated areas. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed him from about 3 meters with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/350 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, +0.5 EV. Mirador Barlovento sits above Pradera on the western flank of the Cordillera Central.
©2026 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