The Story
I photographed this Stout-billed Cinclodes (Cinclodes excelsior) at Los Nevados National Natural Park in Murillo, Tolima, Colombia. Males sing and give a wing-flapping display from a perch. It nests at the end of a tunnel it digs in an earth bank. Its range is somewhat restricted, but its population is believed to be stable. Los Nevados was declared a national park in 1974 and protects Andean forest, páramo and glaciers on the Central Andes. 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.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Stout-billed Cinclodes as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Stout-billed Cinclodes (Cinclodes excelsior) belongs to the family Furnariidae (Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers) 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