The Story
This Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) was photographed at Finca La Florida, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,930 meters. It is a mostly brown hummingbird with a violet patch on the side of the face. It breeds in forest between 400 and 1,600 meters and spreads widely when not nesting. It usually stays high in the canopy, in tall second growth and coffee plantations, but it feeds lower at edges and clearings. Males sing in loose leks of up to several dozen birds. 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 1/125 sec, f/6.7, ISO 200. Cali, Yumbo, La Cumbre and Dagua have committed to conserving the San Antonio–Km 18 Key Biodiversity Area, its forest and its water sources.
©2022 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