The Story
I photographed this Golden-naped Tanager (Chalcothraupis ruficervix) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It perched on a diagonal branch. Its deep blue plumage picked up the soft forest light, and the golden patch on its nape and the dark mask around its eye added contrast. This species moves quickly through the midstory and rarely stops in open light, and here it stepped forward and turned slightly toward me. It lives in the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/750 sec, f/11, ISO 6400, −0.5 EV. Cali, Yumbo, La Cumbre and Dagua have committed to conserving the San Antonio–Km 18 Key Biodiversity Area, the cloud forest around La Minga, along with its water sources.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Golden-naped Tanager (Chalcothraupis ruficervix) 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