The Story
I photographed this juvenile Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) at Finca Ecoturística San Javier, in the vereda Chucuní near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. Adult males are bright yellow with an orange crown, and this young bird is still pale. The species is common in open and semi-open lowlands across much of South America outside the Amazon Basin. It often nests in cavities, including old hornero nests and spaces under house roofs, and it is tolerant of people. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO 3200. Finca San Javier began as a pig farm in 1997 and turned to ecotourism in 2017, and today it offers guided birding and aims to help conserve the tropical dry forest around it.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) 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 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List