The Story
I photographed this juvenile White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) at La Florida, El Bosque de las Aves, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. It ranges from Mexico through Central America to Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, and it is also called the great jacobin. Immature males vary from female-like to male-like, and females can resemble either adult or immature males. It feeds at the flowers of tall trees, epiphytes, shrubs and Heliconia, and several may feed in one tree while squabbling with each other. Its nest is a shallow cup placed on top of a leaf, with another leaf above it as a roof. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −0.3 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List