The Story
I photographed this Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) at Kilometer 18 in Dagua, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,980 meters. Golden Tanager is the official name used by the International Ornithologists’ Union. It is widespread and often common in the highland forests of the Andes from Bolivia north to Colombia and Venezuela, and in Venezuela’s Coastal Range. It belongs to a group of Tangara species that includes the Saffron-crowned, Silver-throated and Flame-faced Tanagers. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) 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 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List