The Story
I photographed this female Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) in the vereda Chapacual, near Yacuanquer in Nariño, Colombia. At about 9 to 12 centimeters it may be the smallest true finch in the world. The birds here belong to the subspecies colombianus, which ranges from southern Mexico to Peru and Venezuela. One of its calls is a very high, drawn-out whistle that rises or falls from one pitch to another. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Its song is a long warble or twitter that often borrows phrases from other birds.
I photographed her with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. Yacuanquer was among the Nariño municipalities that backed the 2026 Global Big Day, when birders in the department recorded 566 species.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 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 2018), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List