White-crowned Manakin
Pseudopipra pipra
Small, plump, and short-tailed. Unmistakable male is glossy black with clean white cap. Female is dull olive-green and similar to other manakins; look for contrasting grayish head and brownish-red eye. Found in the lower or middle levels of forest, often at a male display site or a fruiting tree. Widespread from Costa Rica through much of northern South America.
Identification
The white-crowned manakin is 9–10 cm (3.5–3.9 in) in length. The male of the nominate subspecies has an average weight of 11.0 g (0.39 oz); the female is slightly heavier and on average weighs 12.8 g (0.45 oz). It is a compact short-tailed bird with a stout hooked bill, dark legs, red eyes and striking male plumage.<p>The adult male is mostly black with a white crown which can be erected as a low crest. His call is a buzzy jeeeee, louder and preceded by a popping p-p-p chee when displaying.<p>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 identification relatively easy for a female white-crowned manakin of any race.
Taxonomy
The white-crowned manakin was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and given the binomial name Parus pipra. Linnaeus based his short description on that published by the Dutch collector Albertus Seba in 1735 in his Thesaurus and although Linnaeus specified the location as in Indiis, it is probable that Seba's specimen came from Surinam. The specific name pipra is the Ancient Greek word for a small unidentified bird mentioned by Aristotle. The white-crowned manakin was subsequently placed in the genus Pipra. In 1992, the American ornithologist Richard Prum published a study of the syringeal morphology of birds in Pipra. He found that the genus was polyphyletic and proposed that it should be split with the white-crowned manakin placed in the resurrected genus Dixiphia that had originally been introduced by the German ornithologist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850. Subsequent molecular phylogenetic studies confirmed that Pipra, as traditionally defined, was polyphyletic and most ornithologists followed Prum and placed the white-crowned manakin in Dixiphia. However, in 2016 Guy Kirwan and colleagues showed that Dixiphia was actually a junior synonym of Arundinicola and erected the genus Pseudopipra as a replacement. There are 13 recognised subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Pseudopipra pipra
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pipridae
- Genus
- Pseudopipra
Range and habitat
White-crowned Manakin is a widespread species, with populations in southern Central America, northern South America, and some parts of the Amazonia. There are reports for an extremely isolated population in a relatively small area of the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. It is common in mountain foothills, breeding mainly between 800 and 1600 m, although in northeastern Venezuela it apparently occurs down to sea level.<p>This is a species of the understory of wet forest and adjacent tall second growth. Occupies dense humid forest and adjacent tall secondary woodland, but is also found in younger secondary forest, sandy-belt and isolated ‘islands’ of forest in savannas in the Orinoco and Rio Negro drainage, including Amazonian caatingas or campinaranas. In Ecuador, this manakins seems to be largely absent from level-ground terra firme forest, instead preferring hilly terra firme above 250 m. In the Colombian Andes it generally occurs at 600–1,200 m, although at their northernmost extremity, the species has occurred as low as 100 m.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
Petrophassa albipennis
Large rusty brown pigeon with faint pale speckles on its plumage. In flight shows white wing panels, and flies with a loud clattering of wings. Found only on the sandstone areas of the Kimberley and Ord-Victoria regions. Often roosts on high rocky cliffs or on top of sandstone towers; comes down to the sandy ground in the early morning and evening.
Blue Malkoha
Ceuthmochares aereus
Odd, dark blue-and-gray cuckoo with a bright yellow bill. Found in thick habitats including forest, forest edge, and thickets. Skulks in the thickest parts of the mid-story, especially preferring vine tangles. Call starts with a hesitant series of high “kik” notes, eventually followed by a long, accelerating trill. Also gives a long up-and-down whistle. Dark coloration and yellow bill are distinctive. Range does not overlap with the similar Green Malkoha.
Orange-backed Woodpecker
Chrysocolaptes validus
Dressed all in patchwork, this crested woodpecker is brightly colored and unmistakable; no other large crested woodpecker in its range has wingbars. Male has a faded reddish crest, an orange breast, and a whitish back with a warm buffy tinge. Female has a brown head and breast and a whiter back. Calls are sharp and strident, and can be given singly or, more commonly, as part of prolonged series in which pairs of notes are squished together to produce a squeaky-toy sound: “pee-pee-pee-peeyit-pee-pee-pee-peeyit!” Found in forests from lowlands up into hilly and montane areas.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.