The Story
I photographed this female Golden-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia chrysopasta) in the vereda El Pepino, outside Mocoa, Putumayo, Colombia. Females share the male’s upperparts, wings and tail but are duller below, and the species’ flight feathers are dusky with olive-green edges. It is a resident bird that forages mostly in pairs, less often alone or in small groups, and sometimes joins mixed-species flocks. In forest it feeds mostly in the canopy. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/750 sec, f/6.7, ISO 1600, +1 EV. Local residents built the trail to the Fin del Mundo waterfall and promoted forest conservation as an alternative to activities that once cleared more of the forest.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Golden-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia chrysopasta) belongs to the family Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List