The Story
This male Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) perched on the thick leaf of a succulent, edged in red-orange, at Mirador Barlovento above Pradera, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in soft late-afternoon light. His warm brown plumage is lightly streaked across the breast, and his iridescent sapphire-to-violet throat patch and matching ear patch shine in turquoise and purple. It breeds in forest between 400 and 1,600 meters and visits shade-coffee plantations and tall second growth. It feeds on nectar from small flowers and also catches insects in flight, and males sing in loose leks of up to several dozen birds. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed him with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/1500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200. Mirador Barlovento sits above Pradera on the western flank of the Cordillera Central.
©2026 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