The Story
I made this photo of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) at the Jardín Botánico del Quindío in Calarcá, Quindío, Colombia, on July 17, 2018. In Colombia it is found from sea level up to about 1,800 meters, including in young, brushy secondary forest. Like most hummingbirds it feeds on nectar and small insects. It is very territorial at flower patches and feeders, chasing off other hummingbirds and even large insects. The Jardín Botánico del Quindío in Calarcá is a scientific research and environmental education center, and it was the first legally constituted botanical garden in Colombia. IUCN lists the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640. The regional environmental agency, the CRQ, has also entrusted the garden with eight hectares of natural forest in the Barbas Bremen forest reserve, near Filandia and Circasia.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) 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