I photographed this Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii) in El Caraño, in the hills above Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, between 1,000 and 2,600 meters, in montane forest, forest edges and tall second growth. It usually travels in pairs or groups of three to seven, often in mixed flocks of other tanagers. It eats fruit, arthropods, flower buds and nectar. Within its genus it is grouped with the Golden, Emerald and Silver-throated Tanagers. 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/5.6, ISO 1600. El Caraño holds the main intake for Florencia’s drinking water, and the Salto del Río Caraño is one of its best-known natural attractions.
©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.
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List