The Story
I photographed this Gray Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia) at Pozos La Chorrera, near Acacías, Meta, Colombia, in January 2020. It lives in open country such as grassland, shrubby clearings and forest edges, and even in vacant lots, parks and gardens in towns. Males are blue-gray with a pinkish orange bill, while females are buffy brown with a blackish bill. It feeds mainly on grass seed, especially Panicum grasses. In Colombia it ranges up to 2,400 meters. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Clear water running down from the mountain forms natural pools at Pozos La Chorrera, set in native vegetation.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400. IUCN says the only known threat to it is local trapping for the cagebird trade on Trinidad.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Gray Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia) 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 stable. Source: IUCN Red List