The Story
I photographed this Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) at Hacienda El Escobal in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela. It forages mostly in grass and low vegetation, and cultivated rice is an important part of its diet. It nests mainly in colonies, of up to 100 nests, in rice fields and in or near marshes. Males are polygynous, sometimes with several females at once. Cortolima lists El Escobal, on the Meseta de Ibagué, among the city’s 13 priority birding routes.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200, +0.7 EV. IUCN lists the Yellow-hooded Blackbird as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2019 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