The Story
This is a Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) that I photographed at the Charca de Guarinocito near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia on June 25, 2017. It is a member of the family Icteridae, found in northern South America from Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas, Brazil and Peru. Adult males are glossy black with a yellow crown and face, the hood that gives the bird its name. Researchers at the Universidad de Caldas call the Charca de Guarinocito the most important wetland in Caldas, a stopover where migratory birds rest.
I photographed it with a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250. IUCN lists the Yellow-hooded Blackbird as Least Concern with an increasing population, and people living around the lagoon see the birds as an attraction for visitors and do not allow them to be hunted.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) belongs to the family Icteridae (Troupials 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 2020), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List