The Story
This Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus igniventris) was at Los Nevados National Natural Park in Murillo, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. Birds from central Peru northward have a deeper scarlet belly than the more orange birds farther south. It lives in Andean forest, woodland and shrubland in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Murillo, at about 3,000 meters, is the highest town in Tolima, and the western edge of the municipality takes in the peaks of Nevado del Ruiz. Los Nevados was declared a national park in 1974 and protects Andean forest, páramo and glaciers on the Central Andes.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus igniventris) 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 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List