The Story
This White-booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) was at the Recinto del Pensamiento in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia when I photographed it. The White-booted Racket-tail makes a tiny cup nest of plant fiber and lichen on a horizontal twig. Only the male has the long outer tail feathers, and he weighs only about 2.5 to 2.7 grams. It favors the edges of humid to wet forest. The reserve’s trails pass a hummingbird viewpoint, a butterfly house, an orchid forest and the Pabellón Zeri, built of guadua and regional woods. IUCN lists the White-booted Racket-tail as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1600, +1 EV. The reserve belongs to the Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de Caldas and is run by the Corporación para el Desarrollo de Caldas to promote nature tourism in Manizales.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-booted Racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List