The Story
This White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) was at Entreaguas Reserva Natural in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. Several may feed in one tree and chase each other, but otherwise they are seldom territorial. The male has a dark blue head and chest with a white belly and tail. It usually lives from sea level to about 900 meters. It feeds on nectar at the flowers of tall trees, epiphytes, shrubs and Heliconia. Entreaguas is one of the civil-society reserves of Ibagué’s nature tourism network, set in premontane humid forest at about 1,050 to 1,300 meters.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. IUCN lists the White-necked Jacobin as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List