The Story
I photographed this Glittering-throated Emerald (Chionomesa fimbriata) in the vereda El Pepino, outside Mocoa, Putumayo, Colombia. It is found from Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, and on Trinidad. It uses dry and humid forest, gallery and secondary forest, open woodland, plantations and gardens. Adult females look like males but have white bars near the ends of their throat feathers. It forages by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of flowers, and also eats small insects. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/250 sec, f/6.7, ISO 6400. El Pepino, about 6 kilometers from Mocoa on the road to Villagarzón, is home to the Fin del Mundo waterfall, one of Putumayo’s main natural attractions.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Glittering-throated Emerald (Chionomesa fimbriata) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) 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