The Story
I photographed this juvenile Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) at the Kairi Lodge Natural Reserve, near Manizales, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. Young birds have a duller, less distinct head pattern than adults, with brown stripes over buff. The male helps feed the chicks, which stay in the nest for about two weeks after hatching. Even near fledging, the parents feed them only about every ten minutes. It does not migrate. 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 800. Kairi opened in 2017 as a rural eco-lodge built around conservation tourism, and it aims for a positive social impact on the people who work with it.
©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