The Story
This Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) was perched on a thin bare branch near Filandia, Quindío, Colombia, on June 19, 2017. Adults are bright yellow with an orange crown, and females are usually a little duller. Despite its name, it belongs to the tanager family. In Colombia it lives in open country such as pastures, farmland, parks and gardens, and it often feeds on seeds on the ground. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon EOS 70D and the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM at 1/250 sec, f/16, ISO 400. The finch sits in profile against a pale sky, its orange crown standing out from the yellow body. The farms and pastures around Filandia are good country for open-land birds like this one, and a quiet walk on the rural roads outside town is an easy way to meet them.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers 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 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List