The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains 55 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch "little man" (also the source of the different bird name mannikin).

Description

Manakins range in size from and in weight from . Species in the genus Tyranneutes are the smallest manakins, those in the genus Antilophia are believed to be the largest (since the genus Schiffornis are no longer considered manakins). They are compact stubby birds with short tails, broad and rounded wings, and big heads. The bill is short and has a wide gap. Females and first-year males have dull green plumage; most species are sexually dichromatic in their plumage, the males being mostly black with striking colours in patches, and in some species having long, decorative tail or crown feathers or erectile throat feathers. In some species, males from two to four years old have a distinctive subadult plumage. Some highland species have altitudinal migrations.

Behaviour and ecology

Feeding

Manakins feed in the understory on small fruit (but often remarkably large for the size of the bird The members of the genera Machaeropterus and Manacus have heavily modified wing feathers, which they use to make buzzing and snapping sounds. Members of Manacus and Ceratopipra have superfast wing movements. The ability to produce these wing movements is supported by specialized peripheral androgen receptors in the muscular tissue.

Building of the nest (an open cup, generally low in vegetation), the incubation for 18 to 21 days, and care of the young for 13 to 15 days are undertaken by the female alone, since most manakins do not form stable pairs. (The helmeted manakin does form pairs, but the male's contribution is limited to defending the territory.) The normal clutch is two eggs, which are buff or dull white, marked with brown. An evolutionary explanation connecting lekking to fruit-eating has been proposed. The members of the genus Schiffornis were previously placed in this family, but are now placed in Tityridae.

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! Image !! Genus !! Living species

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|175px||Pseudopipra ||

  • White-crowned manakin, Pseudopipra pipra

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|175px||Pipra ||

  • Crimson-hooded manakin, Pipra aureola (also known as orange-headed manakin)
  • Band-tailed manakin, Pipra fasciicauda
  • Wire-tailed manakin, Pipra filicauda

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|175px||Ceratopipra ||

  • Golden-headed manakin, Ceratopipra erythrocephala
  • Red-capped manakin, Ceratopipra mentalis
  • Red-headed manakin, Ceratopipra rubrocapilla
  • Round-tailed manakin, Ceratopipra chloromeros
  • Scarlet-horned manakin, Ceratopipra cornuta

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|175px||Lepidothrix ||

  • Velvety manakin, Lepidothrix velutina
  • Blue-capped manakin, Lepidothrix coronata
  • Blue-rumped manakin, Lepidothrix isidorei
  • Cerulean-capped manakin, Lepidothrix coeruleocapilla
  • Snow-capped manakin, Lepidothrix nattereri
  • Golden-crowned manakin, Lepidothrix vilasboasi
  • Opal-crowned manakin, Lepidothrix iris
  • Orange-bellied manakin, Lepidothrix suavissima
  • White-fronted manakin, Lepidothrix serena

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|175px||Chiroxiphia ||

  • Helmeted manakin, Chiroxiphia galeata
  • Araripe manakin, Chiroxiphia bokermanni
  • Long-tailed manakin, Chiroxiphia linearis
  • Lance-tailed manakin, Chiroxiphia lanceolata
  • Blue-backed manakin, Chiroxiphia pareola
  • Yungas manakin, Chiroxiphia boliviana
  • Blue manakin, Chiroxiphia caudata

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|175px||Ilicura ||

  • Pin-tailed manakin, Ilicura militaris

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|175px||Masius ||

  • Golden-winged manakin, Masius chrysopterus

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|175px||Corapipo ||

  • White-bibbed manakin, Corapipo leucorrhoa
  • White-ruffed manakin, Corapipo altera
  • White-throated manakin, Corapipo gutturalis

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|175px||Manacus ||

  • White-collared manakin, Manacus candei
  • Orange-collared manakin, Manacus aurantiacus
  • Golden-collared manakin, Manacus vitellinus
  • White-bearded manakin, Manacus manacus

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|175px||Machaeropterus ||

  • Club-winged manakin, Machaeropterus deliciosus
  • Kinglet manakin, Machaeropterus regulus
  • Striolated manakin, Machaeropterus striolatus
  • Painted manakin, Machaeropterus eckelberryi
  • Fiery-capped manakin, Machaeropterus pyrocephalus

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|175px||Xenopipo ||

  • Black manakin, Xenopipo atronitens
  • Olive manakin, Xenopipo uniformis

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|175px||Cryptopipo ||

  • Green manakin, Cryptopipo holochlora
  • Choco manakin, Cryptopipo litae

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|175px||Chloropipo ||

  • Yellow-headed manakin, Chloropipo flavicapilla
  • Jet manakin, Chloropipo unicolor

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|175px||Heterocercus ||

  • Flame-crested manakin, Heterocercus linteatus
  • Orange-crested manakin, Heterocercus aurantiivertex
  • Yellow-crested manakin, Heterocercus flavivertex

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|175px||Neopelma ||

  • Saffron-crested tyrant-manakin, Neopelma chrysocephalum
  • Sulphur-bellied tyrant-manakin, Neopelma sulphureiventer
  • Pale-bellied tyrant-manakin, Neopelma pallescens
  • Wied's tyrant-manakin, Neopelma aurifrons
  • Serra do Mar tyrant-manakin, Neopelma chrysolophum

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|175px||Tyranneutes ||

  • Dwarf tyrant-manakin, Tyranneutes stolzmanni
  • Tiny tyrant-manakin, Tyranneutes virescens

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References

Further reading

  • "Jungle Dancers", Nature article about manakin behaviour, from the PBS website
  • "High-speed videos of two manakin clades (Pipridae: Aves)", from the Journal of Experimental Biology website
  • Videos of Machaeropterus deliciosus making a "tick-tick-ting" sound through wing motion, from the Science website
  • Manakin videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
  • "Manakins and the Plant Family Melastomataceae", from the Ecology Online Sweden website