The Story
I made this photo of a Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus), of the subspecies melanterus, at San José de las Hermosas in Chaparral, Tolima, Colombia. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay. Its central tail feathers are black and the rest yellow. It feeds mostly in flocks of its own kind in the upper levels of the forest. It is not regularly found in extensive primary forest. San José de las Hermosas is one of the rural villages of Chaparral, which lies about 163 km from Ibagué.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −0.3 EV. IUCN lists the Crested Oropendola as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) belongs to the family Icteridae (Troupials and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List