The Story
I photographed this Rusty Flowerpiercer (Diglossa sittoides) in the Vista Nieve area above Minca, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia, at about 1,535 meters. The genus name, Diglossa, means double-tongued in Greek, and flowerpiercers pierce the base of flowers with their hooked bills to reach the nectar. This species is found from Venezuela to Argentina. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Its natural habitats are humid montane forest, high-elevation shrubland and heavily degraded former forest.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/3000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, −2 EV. The Sierra Nevada is the highest coastal range in the tropics, and its roughly 17,000 square kilometers feed 36 rivers across Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rusty Flowerpiercer (Diglossa sittoides) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List