The Story
This is a Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) that I photographed in La Macarena, Meta, Colombia on July 4, 2017. It does not build its own nest, but takes over the domed or hanging nests of other birds, such as caciques, by harassing the builders. Adults feed mainly on fruit, especially small berries, and catch insects such as dragonflies in mid-air. It often perches high in the canopy on an exposed branch or dead snag. In 1948 the central part of the Serranía de la Macarena became the first national reserve in Colombia.
I photographed it with a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320. IUCN lists the Piratic Flycatcher as Least Concern with a decreasing population, and the botanical garden just outside La Macarena invites visitors to take part in its restoration work.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) 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