The Story
I made this photo of a Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) at Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia. Males are polygynous, sometimes with several females at once. 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. Leticia, the capital of Colombia’s Amazonas department, lies on the left bank of the Amazon where the borders of Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet, an area called Tres Fronteras. IUCN lists the Yellow-hooded Blackbird as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. From Leticia, travelers go upriver by boat to Amacayacu National Natural Park, which protects 4,220 square kilometers of rainforest, and the Ticuna people live in part of the park.
©2021 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