The Story
On June 15, 2017, I photographed this Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) at PANACA in Quimbaya, Quindío, Colombia. Its genus was moved into the tanager family, Thraupidae, beginning in 2012. It is a small seed-eater with a short, thick bill. PANACA, the National Agricultural and Livestock Park, lies about 7 kilometers west of the town of Quimbaya. The 47-hectare park has interactive exhibits and more than 200 species of animals. Quimbaya takes its name from the Quimbaya civilization, the pre-Columbian people who lived in the area.
I used a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 500. IUCN lists the Yellow-bellied Seedeater as Least Concern, and Quimbaya became part of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 2011.
©2017 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers 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). Source: IUCN Red List