The Story
This male Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) perched for a moment on a delicate branch at La Minga Ecolodge, in the Río Bitaco Forest Reserve near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Known for its iridescent green plumage and very long tail feathers, the sylph is a highlight of this cloud forest. Its colors contrasted with the greens around it in soft, diffused light under the canopy. The species ranges from Venezuela to Bolivia, between 900 and 3,000 meters, and feeds on nectar and insects. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/4000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, −1 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18, where La Minga sits, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©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