The Story
On June 25, 2017, I photographed this Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) at the Charca de Guarinocito near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia. 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. The Charca de Guarinocito is an old oxbow of the Magdalena River that stays connected to the river all year.
I used a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1000. 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