The Story
I photographed this Pied Water-Tyrant (Fluvicola pica) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. It is generally regarded as a year-round resident. Its nests are sometimes used by the Shiny Cowbird, which lays its eggs in them. Its population is estimated at no fewer than 500,000 mature birds, though that number is believed to be decreasing. Overall it is considered fairly common to locally common. It feeds on insects, gleaning them mostly from floating and emergent vegetation and also taking prey from the water surface. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. The lagoon is protected as the Charca de Guarinocito Integrated Management District.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Pied Water-Tyrant (Fluvicola pica) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List