The Story
This Blue-necked Tanager (Stilpnia cyanicollis) was at Ecoparque Los Alcázares in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia when I photographed it. The Blue-necked Tanager eats fruits, berries, flowers and insects, but fruit is the main part of its diet. The female builds a well-hidden cup nest of moss and usually lays two white eggs with brown spots. Both parents feed the nestlings, sometimes with help from other birds. Ecoparque Los Alcázares Arenillo protects 34 hectares of high Andean humid forest on the southwest side of Manizales, at 1,900 to 2,000 meters. IUCN lists the Blue-necked Tanager 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 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. The ecoparque works to protect the wildlife that moves along Manizales’ natural corridors and to help restore the city’s ecological capital.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-necked Tanager (Stilpnia cyanicollis) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers 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 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List