The Story
I photographed this Common Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) at La Esmeralda Hostal, in the vereda Pastales near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia, in October 2019. It is a tiny, big-headed flycatcher with a long, flat bill, weighing 4 to 8 grams. It lives in open and semi-open country, from forest edges and plantations to pastures and gardens, but avoids dense forest. It forages very actively, hopping sideways along branches with its tail cocked and wagging. Both sexes build a messy hanging pouch nest with a side entrance under a little visor, sometimes near a wasp nest. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. The lodge’s bird list includes Colombian endemics as well as migrants from the north.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Common Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) 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 stable. Source: IUCN Red List