The Story
I made this photo of a female Black-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia victoriae) at the Observatorio de Colibríes in La Calera, near Bogotá, Colombia. The Black-tailed Trainbearer lives between 2,500 and 3,800 meters in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Its habitats include moist montane forest, high-elevation shrubland and heavily degraded former forest. Females have a shorter tail than males and white underparts with green spots. At least 14 hummingbird species visit the observatory’s single hectare, where the family has planted about 300 native flowering trees and shrubs. IUCN lists the Black-tailed Trainbearer as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. Victoria Lizarralde and her family began the observatory in 2005, and they plant native flowers, keep the feeders fresh and host school visits to promote conservation.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia victoriae) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List