The Story
I made this photo of a Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) at La Macarena, Meta, Colombia. Its prey includes beetles, bees, wasps, termites, butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers. It breeds from southern Arizona and Texas through Central and South America to central Argentina. It breeds in semi-open areas with trees and shrubs, including gardens and roadsides. In most of its range pairs are permanent residents and stay together all year. The Sierra de la Macarena is home to about 420 bird species, along with eight species of primates. La Macarena is part of the Sierra de la Macarena and of the Macarena Special Management Area, which brings together several protected areas.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Tropical Kingbird as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List