The Story
I photographed this female Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor) at Finca Ecoturística San Javier, in the vereda Chucuní near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It is found in the West Indies, Colombia and Venezuela and on islands in the western Caribbean. It feeds mainly on seeds, foraging alone, in pairs or in small groups on or near the ground. Males sometimes sing in a courtship flight, vibrating their wings as they drift down. It nests in loose colonies, building a globe-shaped nest of grasses with a side or bottom entrance. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 for this one, at 1/90 sec, f/11, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. Finca San Javier offers guided birding as part of its work to help conserve tropical dry forest.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers 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 2018), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List