The Story
I photographed this female Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta) at La Macarena, Meta, Colombia. It is found from Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland and heavily degraded former forest. It is about 9 centimeters long and weighs about 8 grams. It is locally common in savannas and pastures up to about 1,600 meters, and also turns up in gardens, parks and fields. The Sierra de la Macarena is home to about 420 bird species, along with eight species of primates.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Ruddy-breasted Seedeater as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers 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 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List