The Story
I photographed this Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It rested on a moss-covered branch. Its muted brown feathers contrast with a violet ear patch that catches the soft, filtered light, and a background of ferns and foliage frames its posture. It is usually found high in the canopy, in tall second growth and in 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 made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/90 sec, f/6.7, ISO 400, +1 EV. La Minga sits in the cloud forest of the Kilometer 18 area, about an hour from Cali.
©2024 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