The Story
I photographed this female White-headed Marsh Tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala) at Hacienda El Escobal in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. Females have a white forecrown and throat with a grayish-brown breast and flanks. Its usual way of hunting is a sally strike, and it catches most of its prey at the water’s surface. It is a resident bird, though it may move when wetland conditions change. It is a small flycatcher of around 13 centimeters and 13 grams. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the White-headed Marsh Tyrant as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-headed Marsh Tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) 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 stable. Source: IUCN Red List