The Story
This Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) was at the Jardín Botánico San Jorge in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. It plucks seeds while sitting on the seed head or by bending the stalk to the ground. It is mainly a bird of grassy places, including clearings, fallow fields and weedy old pastures. In the breeding season it usually forages in pairs, and outside it, it often forms flocks that can exceed 20 birds. Males have a black head and throat, while females are warm buffy brown. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. IUCN lists the Yellow-bellied Seedeater as Least Concern.
©2019 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