The Story
I photographed this female Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) at Beraca Charco Indio, near San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia, in February 2021. Females are usually a slightly duller version of the bright yellow, orange-crowned male. It often nests in cavities, including old Rufous Hornero nests and spaces under house roofs, and it tolerates people well. Its pleasant but repetitive song has made it a popular cage bird, though it is not related to the Atlantic Canary. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/2000 sec, f/16, ISO 6400, −0.5 EV. Beraca Charco Indio is a 140-hectare agritourism farm in the Serranía de La Lindosa, about 6 kilometers from San José del Guaviare, with a private river pool called the Charco Indio.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) 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 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List