The Story
I photographed this male Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) at El Palmar, the entrance to the Alto Combeima forest reserve in the Cañón del Combeima above Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia, at about 2,627 meters. He was balanced on a flowering plant. His iridescent emerald plumage and very long tail feathers stand out against the cloud-forest background. The species lives from Venezuela to Bolivia between 900 and 3,000 meters and feeds on nectar and insects, usually hovering at flowers but sometimes clinging to them. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed him with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/350 sec, f/9.5, ISO 12800. The Alto Combeima reserve covers 7,356 hectares between 2,000 and 4,800 meters on the eastern slope of the Central Andes, and it borders Los Nevados National Natural Park.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List