The Story
This Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) was at La Huerta Hotel at Lago Calima, in Yotoco, Valle del Cauca, Colombia when I photographed it. The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is very territorial at flower patches and feeders, chasing off other hummingbirds and even large insects. Even so, it sometimes nests in loose colonies. In Colombia it is found from sea level up to about 1,800 meters, including in young, brushy secondary forest. Lago Calima is a reservoir of about 19 square kilometers, built for a hydroelectric project and later taken over by the regional environmental agency, the CVC. IUCN lists the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1.7 EV. Nearby, the Bosque de Yotoco forest reserve protects 1,425 hectares that supply water to Yotoco and more than ten rural aqueducts.
©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