Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve is a 2,852 ha nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It lies at the base of the Páramo del Sol volcanic massif

Massif

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

 west of the city of Medellín

Medellín

Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...

 in the Department of Antioquia

Antioquia Department

Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...

. It was established in 2005 by Fundación ProAves

Fundación ProAves

Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia.ProAves has over 60 full-time professional staff...

, a non-profit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 environmental organization

Environmental organization

An environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....

 that owns and manages several reserves in Colombia.

History

Following an expedition to the Páramo

Páramo

The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...

 de Frontino in 2004, researchers rediscovered two extremely range-restricted endemic species, the Dusky Starfrontlet

Dusky Starfrontlet

The Dusky Starfrontlet is a hummingbird species in the subfamily Trochilinae.It is found only at high altitudes in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia, and was first discovered on Páramo de Frontino...

 and the Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer. In 2005, a large bird reserve was established across the paramo and montane forest by Fundacion ProAves and named after the Dusky Starfrontlet.

Birds

Other locally endemic birds are the Fenwick's Antpitta

Fenwick's Antpitta

Grallaria fenwickorum or Grallaria urraoensis, known in English as Fenwick's Antpitta, the Urrao Antpitta or the Antioquia Antpitta, is a small, highly threatened species of bird found in the understorey of cloud forest in the Andean highlands of Colombia. Its description has caused considerable...

 and Paramillo Tapaculo

Paramillo Tapaculo

The Paramillo Tapaculo is a species of bird in the Formicariidae family. It is endemic to humid highland scrub in the Cordillera Occidental in Colombia. It has traditionally included the more widespread S. opacus as a subspecies, but under the common name Paramo Tapaculo...

. Other key species include the Rusty-faced Parrot

Rusty-faced Parrot

The Rusty-faced Parrot is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:*...

, Andean Pygmy-Owl

Andean Pygmy-owl

The Andean Pygmy Owl is a species of owl in the Strigidae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...

, Ocellated Tapaculo

Ocellated Tapaculo

The Ocellated Tapaculo is a large bird found in the northern Andes in South America. It is a highly distinctive tapaculo; traditionally united with its closest relatives in the Rhinocryptidae, this family is paraphyletic with the Formicariidae but instead of merging the tapaculos with the...

, Moustached Antpitta

Moustached Antpitta

The Moustached Antpitta is a species of bird tentatively placed in the family Formicariidae; it might belong to a more distinct lineage though....

, Black-throated Flowerpiercer, White-capped

White-capped Tanager

The White-capped Tanager. Sericossypha albocristata. At a weight of 114 g and a length of 24 cm , it is the heaviest but not the longest species of tanager. This species is glossy black overall with a large white crown and a red throat...

 and Red-hooded Tanager

Red-hooded Tanager

The Red-hooded Tanager , is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family . The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family...

s, Black-collared Jay

Black-collared Jay

The Black-collared Jay is a jay found in Andean forests in Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It was formerly considered conspecific with the White-collared Jay....

 and Black-billed Mountain Toucan.

Access

Access to the reserve involves five hours travelling by road from Medellín to Urrao

Urrao

Urrao is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia....

, followed by a two-hour walk or horseback ride to the reserve’s lodge.