The Story
This juvenile White-headed Marsh Tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala) was at Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia when I photographed it. Females have a white forecrown and throat with a grayish-brown breast and flanks. Its usual way of hunting is a sally strike, and it catches most of its prey at the water’s surface. Leticia, the capital of Colombia’s Amazonas department, lies on the left bank of the Amazon where the borders of Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet, an area called Tres Fronteras. IUCN lists the White-headed Marsh Tyrant as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. Amacayacu National Natural Park, upriver from Leticia, also helps conserve the culture of the Ticuna people who live there, and visitors can find crafts from the region’s indigenous communities.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-headed Marsh Tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) 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