White-crowned Manakin
Encyclopedia
The White-crowned Manakin (Dixiphia pipra) is a tiny passerine
bird
in the manakin
family. It is a resident breeder in the tropical New World
from Costa Rica
to northeastern Peru
and eastern Brazil
. It was formerly placed in the genus Pipra, but its syringeal
anatomy favours its separation as a separate genus Dixiphia. This genus is currently considered monotypic, but Hilty suggests that more than one species may be involved.
It is common in mountain foothills, breeding mainly between 800–1600 m, although in northeastern Venezuela
it apparently occurs down to sea level.
This is a species of the understory of wet forest and adjacent tall second growth. The nesting behaviour is undescribed, but presumably resembles that of other manakin species in which the female lays two brown-speckled white or grey eggs in a cup nest . In all manakin species, nest-building, incubation for 18–21 days, and care of the young are undertaken by the female alone, since members of this family do not form stable pairs.
The White-crowned Manakin is, like its relatives, a compact short-tailed bird with a stout hooked bill, dark legs and striking male plumage. It is typically 9.7–10 cm long, weighs 12 g, and has red eyes.
The adult male is mostly black with a white crown which can be erected as a low crest. His call is a buzzy jeeeeeee, louder and preceded by a popping p-p-p chee when displaying.
The female and young males are olive-green with a grey head and throat, and grey-green or olive underparts. The female of the eastern Andean
race coracina is brighter and greener above and below than nominate pipra, but the combination of a grey head and red eyes makes specific identication relatively easy for a female White-crowned Manakin of any race.
Like other manakins, this species has a fascinating breeding display at a communal lek, but the leks of this species are much more dispersed than the small cleared areas favoured by most manakins, with 3-4 males just within earshot of each other, and up to 100 m apart. Males fly between horizontal perches 3–12 m high and up to 50 m apart with a swooping flight, or, when a female is present, a slow butterfly-like
flutter.
The White-collared Manakin feeds low in the trees on fruit
and some insect
s, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the manakin
Manakin
The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of unique small suboscine passerine birds. The family contains some 60 species. They are distributed through the American tropics...
family. It is a resident breeder in the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
from Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
to northeastern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and eastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was formerly placed in the genus Pipra, but its syringeal
Syrinx (biology)
Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals. The sound is produced by vibrations of some or all of the membrana tympaniformis and the pessulus caused by air flowing through the syrinx...
anatomy favours its separation as a separate genus Dixiphia. This genus is currently considered monotypic, but Hilty suggests that more than one species may be involved.
It is common in mountain foothills, breeding mainly between 800–1600 m, although in northeastern Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
it apparently occurs down to sea level.
This is a species of the understory of wet forest and adjacent tall second growth. The nesting behaviour is undescribed, but presumably resembles that of other manakin species in which the female lays two brown-speckled white or grey eggs in a cup nest . In all manakin species, nest-building, incubation for 18–21 days, and care of the young are undertaken by the female alone, since members of this family do not form stable pairs.
The White-crowned Manakin is, like its relatives, a compact short-tailed bird with a stout hooked bill, dark legs and striking male plumage. It is typically 9.7–10 cm long, weighs 12 g, and has red eyes.
The adult male is mostly black with a white crown which can be erected as a low crest. His call is a buzzy jeeeeeee, louder and preceded by a popping p-p-p chee when displaying.
The female and young males are olive-green with a grey head and throat, and grey-green or olive underparts. The female of the eastern Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
race coracina is brighter and greener above and below than nominate pipra, but the combination of a grey head and red eyes makes specific identication relatively easy for a female White-crowned Manakin of any race.
Like other manakins, this species has a fascinating breeding display at a communal lek, but the leks of this species are much more dispersed than the small cleared areas favoured by most manakins, with 3-4 males just within earshot of each other, and up to 100 m apart. Males fly between horizontal perches 3–12 m high and up to 50 m apart with a swooping flight, or, when a female is present, a slow butterfly-like
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
flutter.
The White-collared Manakin feeds low in the trees on fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and some insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Further reading
- Snow, D.W. (1961). "The displays of the manakins Pipra pipra and Tyranneutes virescensTiny Tyrant-manakinThe Tiny Tyranneutes or Tiny Tyrant-manakin is a species of bird in the Pipridae family.It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela....
." Ibis 103A(1):110-113