The Story
This female Blue-throated Starfrontlet (Coeligena helianthea) was at the Observatorio de Colibríes in La Calera, near Bogotá, Colombia when I photographed it. The Blue-throated Starfrontlet tends to forage within a few meters of the ground. Besides nectar, it takes small arthropods by gleaning them from foliage. Its breeding season runs from May to October. It is considered locally common and accepts human-made habitats, but its natural habitat is threatened by deforestation. The Observatorio de Colibríes sits at about 3,000 meters in high Andean forest, in the vereda Frailejonal of La Calera, near Bogotá. IUCN lists the Blue-throated Starfrontlet 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 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200. Visits are limited to groups of 20 and to Tuesday through Saturday, because, as the founder says, the hummingbirds also need a rest from people.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-throated Starfrontlet (Coeligena helianthea) 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