The Story
I photographed this female Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, which I visited with local birding guide Asherita Viajera. She perched on a slender branch amid green foliage. Her emerald-green plumage, golden-yellow face and soft blue undertones show in the diffused light of the dense forest. Females are duller than males and lack the yellow mantle and black belly patch. The species is endemic to Colombia, and most recent records come from Valle del Cauca, where it is fairly common even in small forest fragments. IUCN lists it as Near Threatened.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18, where La Minga sits, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2019), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List