The Story
I photographed this Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) at La Reserva Finca Turística, near San Juan de Arama, Meta, Colombia, in January 2020. It breeds from southern Arizona and Texas through Central and South America to central Argentina. In most of its range, pairs stay together all year. It watches from a high, open perch and makes long, acrobatic flights to catch insects in mid-air. It defends its territory hard, even against much larger birds such as toucans, caracaras and hawks. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and its population appears to be growing.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100. San Juan de Arama is known as the gateway to the Sierra de la Macarena.
©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