The Story
I photographed this Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) at Avistamiento de Aves Doña Dora, in Dagua, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in February 2020. It breeds in forest between 400 and 1,600 meters and spreads widely into the lowlands when not nesting. It feeds high in the canopy of rainforest, tall second growth and coffee plantations. Males sing a repeated chit in loose groups called leks, sometimes several dozen strong. Its nest is a small cup of plant down holding two white eggs. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, −1 EV. Visitors can see between 28 and 60 species in a day there, in an area of less than 150 square meters.
©2023 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