The Story
I photographed this Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It perched against green foliage, showing its yellow plumage and black facial markings. This tanager is widespread and often common in highland forests of the Andes, from Bolivia north to Colombia and Venezuela. Golden Tanager is the official name used by the International Ornithologists’ Union. It belongs to a species group 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 1/350 sec, f/6.7, ISO 400, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18, where La Minga sits, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2024 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