The Story
I photographed this juvenile Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) at the Kairi Lodge Natural Reserve, near Manizales, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. Its cup nest is made of plant material lined with fine grasses. The pale greenish-blue eggs have reddish-brown blotches. It copes with a wide range of salt in its diet even without a salt gland, though only for short periods. Because it stays put across such a wide range of elevations, it lives through big swings in temperature each year. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200. Kairi is recognized as a biological corridor for birds between the Ecoparque Alcázares and the Reserva El Arenillo.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) belongs to the family Passerellidae (New World Sparrows) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List