The Story
I photographed this Orange-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia xanthogaster) at Finca La Conchita, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. It has a thick, stubby bill, and males are glossy blue-black above and yellow below with a deep yellow forehead. It feeds mainly on small fruit, with some arthropods. It usually forages in pairs, regularly joins mixed-species flocks and shares fruiting trees with other birds. Its nest is a domed enclosure of grass and moss with a side entrance. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, −0.7 EV. It occurs in many protected areas, as well as in many unprotected places that appear not to be at risk, at least in the short term.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Orange-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia xanthogaster) belongs to the family Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, 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 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List