The Story
I photographed this Blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) in the Vista Nieve area above Minca, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia, at about 1,535 meters. It lives in every mainland South American country except Chile, French Guiana, Suriname and Uruguay. It feeds almost entirely on fruit, with some insects, and it forages in pairs, family groups or small flocks of up to about 12 birds. Its nest is a ball of grasses with a side entrance, often set in an earthen bank. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, −0.5 EV. These mountains rise from the Caribbean coast to 5,700 meters, apart from the Andes, and they are the source of 36 rivers.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) belongs to the family Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, 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 decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List