The Story
I photographed this female Steely-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at 1,988 meters. She perched against a backdrop of soft green tones. Her iridescent green feathers caught the natural light, with hints of blue and gold. This location is a good place to see the many hummingbirds of Colombia, a country known for its bird diversity. Adult females have some white on the throat and grayish-brown undertail coverts. The species lives in Colombia and Venezuela. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18, where La Minga sits, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Steely-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei) 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