The first time you notice it, it almost feels unreal. A small bird moves through the subcanopy, and suddenly a flash of gold catches the eye. For a moment it looks like a ray of sunlight caught in feathers. When the bird turns again, the pattern becomes clearer: a dark body, contrasted by striking golden… Continue reading Gold-ringed Tanager in Tatamá mountains, a region in Colombia
Tag: Tatamá National Park
Bicolored Antvireo: a poorly known species of antbird
I am not expecting it. The morning along the edge of Tatamá National Natural Park in Risaralda is already generous with tanagers and mixed flocks moving through the mid-elevation forest. Then a dark shape shifts quietly inside a dense tangle of bamboo. At first it is just movement and shadow. When the bird turns, the… Continue reading Bicolored Antvireo: a poorly known species of antbird
Rufous-gaped Hillstar in fast flight
It is hovering right in front of me, close enough that I can hear the thin, insect-like buzz of its wings. For a second I forget the camera in my hands. The Rufous-gaped Hillstar (Urochroa bougueri) seems suspended in the fresh Andean air of the late evening, facing me directly, its breast a combination of… Continue reading Rufous-gaped Hillstar in fast flight
Munchique Wood Wren defend its territory
Above a certain altitude in the cloud forest, you can hear it long before you see it. Deep from the dense undergrowth comes a sudden, sharp, rapid, and incredibly loud sound for such a small bird. Its song echoes through the vegetation as if the forest itself were speaking. Somewhere in the shadows, a Munchique… Continue reading Munchique Wood Wren defend its territory
Collared Inca in dispute
Mist has settled once again over the western slopes of the Andes in Tatamá National Park. At the highest point, near the entrance to the Montezuma military base, the low-lying forest of Paramo-style hums silently, its sound interrupted only by the sharp, metallic beat of wings. A flash of green and blue cuts through the… Continue reading Collared Inca in dispute