The Story
I made this photo of a Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) at Finca Alejandría at Km 18 above Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Males sing in loose leks of up to several dozen birds. It breeds in forest between 400 and 1,600 meters but spreads widely into the lowlands when not nesting. It feeds on nectar from small flowers of trees, shrubs and epiphytes. It also catches insects in flight as an essential source of protein. Cali lies in the Cauca River valley at about 1,000 meters, with the Western Andes rising to the west of the city.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. IUCN lists the Brown Violetear as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List