The Story
This adult male Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) was at PANACA in Quimbaya, Quindío, Colombia, on June 15, 2017. Adult males are easy to recognize, with a scarlet crown and underparts set against a dark brown mask, back and wings, while females and young birds are much plainer. It is a tyrant flycatcher found from the southwestern United States south through much of South America, and in Colombia it favors open country such as pastures, farmland and gardens, where it catches flying insects in short sallies from exposed perches. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon EOS 70D and the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. PANACA is an agricultural theme park in Colombia’s coffee region, and open, bird-friendly farmland like this is where visitors can meet one of the brightest birds of the Andean valleys.
©2017 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List