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
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.<p>The white-crowned manakin feeds low in the trees on fruit and some insects, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray-breasted Spurfowl
Pternistis rufopictus
A large gray-and-brown francolin with bare red skin on the throat and around the eyes. Also note the red bill, the dark gray legs, and the chestnut, buff, and black markings along the sides of the belly. Pale patches in the outer wings are conspicuous in flight. Found in fairly dry thorn savanna, woodland, and thickets, usually in pairs or small groups. Similar to Red-necked Francolin, but there is little overlap in range, and separated by the brown legs and many plumage details. Also similar to Yellow-necked Francolin, but easily separated by the red or sometimes orange (rather than yellow) throat. The call is a fading series of grating “kreaaak” notes.
Sooty Myzomela
Myzomela tristrami
Silky black with a slight bluish-green tinge to the wing and tail feathers when seen in direct sunlight. Juvenile has a distinctive fleshy yellow bill, tipped black. Found in most habitats, including gardens. Similar to immature Cardinal Myzomela similar but lacks reddish tones to plumage. Generally quiet, but most common vocalisation is a quiet, whispered chirping and churring.
White-bellied Minivet
Pericrocotus erythropygius
A beautiful minivet inhabiting open, dry scrub and savanna with scattered acacia (Prosopis) growth. The male has a glossy black upper body, face, and neck. The breast region has a round orange patch, with the rest of the underparts white. The tail is black, with an orange rump and white markings on the wings. The plumage of the male of this bird is reminiscent of breeding male stonechats. The female is duller in appearance, with dark gray upperparts, black wings, a black tail, and dark black lores. The wings have white markings similar to the males’, and the rump is orange. The species usually moves in small groups, feeding mainly on insects.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.