The Story
This Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii) perched on a textured branch at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, its red head, yellow bill and green plumage set against the blurred cloud forest. The diffused light brought out the detail in its feathers. La Minga’s elevation and birdlife make it a good place to work with this species. The barbet eats insects such as caterpillars and fruit such as berries, and it comes to bananas at feeders. Birds of the western Colombian subspecies weigh about 38 to 45 grams. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/250 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. Cali, Yumbo, La Cumbre and Dagua have committed to conserving the San Antonio–Km 18 Key Biodiversity Area, the cloud forest around La Minga, along with its water sources.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii) belongs to the family Capitonidae (New World Barbets) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List