The Story
This Orange-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia xanthogaster) perched on a slender branch at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in dim, diffused forest light. His deep blue-violet back and golden-yellow crown stand out against the softly blurred green background. Males have a deep yellow forehead patch that reaches well beyond the eye, glossy blue-black upperparts and yellow underparts with an ochre tinge on the belly. The species is a year-round resident, eating mostly small fruits with some arthropods. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. La Minga sits in the cloud forest of the Kilometer 18 area, about an hour from Cali.
©2025 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