The Story
I photographed this Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii) in El Caraño, in the hills above Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. The female builds the nest alone, hiding it well, and nests have been found in pastures, forest, forest edges and even on buildings. The Pacific-slope form is sometimes called the Yellow-faced Tanager. Its population is declining because of habitat destruction, though it is not yet considered threatened. It is omnivorous, feeding mainly in the canopy on fruit, arthropods, flower buds and nectar. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1600. Florencia, the capital of Caquetá, is known as the golden gateway to the Colombian Amazon and was founded on December 25, 1902.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List