The Story
I photographed this Plushcap (Catamblyrhynchus diadema) at the Forest of Orchids, a private reserve in the vereda Chincé near Tabio and Tenjo, Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is the only member of its genus, once placed in a family of its own and now grouped with the tanagers. It lives in humid montane forest from Venezuela to Argentina, always close to Chusquea bamboo, and it probes into dense whorls of bamboo for its prey. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/500 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, +1.5 EV. The Forest of Orchids is restoring land that was once cleared and burned, and it received Colombia’s Premio Nacional Ambiental in 2023.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Plushcap (Catamblyrhynchus diadema) 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 decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List