The Story
I photographed this Pileated Finch (Coryphospingus pileatus) at Finca Ecoturística San Javier, in the vereda Chucuní near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. The crest is black with a red central stripe, and it is usually held flat. The species lives in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, and while its diet has not been studied, one source says it feeds on seeds. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. It is mostly a year-round resident, though some seasonal movements are suspected in Venezuela.
I photographed him with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/90 sec, f/11, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. Finca San Javier began as a pig farm in 1997 and turned to ecotourism in 2017, offering guided birding and aiming to help conserve tropical dry forest.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Pileated Finch (Coryphospingus pileatus) 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