The Story
I photographed this White-winged Becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus) at Beraca Charco Indio, near San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia, in February 2021. Adult males have a glossy black crown and nape and slate-gray underparts, while females have a brown-olive crown and a partial white eye-ring. Its nest is a bulky globe of grass, plant fibers and Spanish moss with a side entrance, wedged in a branch fork 4 to 38 meters up. It is a year-round resident in most of its range. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, +1.5 EV. Visitors to Beraca Charco Indio can plant a tree on the farm’s Sendero de la Reconciliación, give it a name and receive photos of it as it grows.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-winged Becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus) belongs to the family Tityridae (Tityras and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List