The Story
This Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) was at the Recinto del Pensamiento in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia when I photographed it. The Buff-tailed Coronet usually forages in the middle story but also feeds in the canopy. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, between about 2,000 and 3,500 meters. It is highly territorial, though it may share a flowering tree with other hummingbirds. The Recinto del Pensamiento is a 179-hectare nature reserve of Andean cloud forest above 2,000 meters, at Km 11 on the road from Manizales to the Magdalena. IUCN lists the Buff-tailed Coronet as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, +1 EV. The reserve belongs to the Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de Caldas and is run by the Corporación para el Desarrollo de Caldas to promote nature tourism in Manizales.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Buff-tailed Coronet (Boissonneaua flavescens) 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 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List