Orange-collared Manakin
Manacus aurantiacus
Small, plump, and short tailed with unmistakable color pattern: bright orange “collar” (mostly neck and throat) with contrasting black cap and wings. Female much different than male: dull olive-green with slightly brighter yellow belly. She’s difficult to distinguish from other female manakins but note bright orange legs and typically brighter yellow tones. Found in the forest understory, typically at a male display site or a fruiting tree.
Identification
The orange-collared manakin is, like its relatives, a compact short-tailed bird with a heavy hooked bill, orange legs and brightly coloured male plumage. It is typically 10 cm long and weighs 15.5 g.<p>The adult male has a black crown, wings and tail, and a black band across the midback. The rest of the head, neck, breast and upper back are orange, the rump is olive-green, and the belly is bright yellow.<p>The male wings are heavily modified, with the five outer primaries very narrow for their outer half, and the inner primaries thickened and bowed. This feature is shared only by the male White-collared and golden-collared manakins. The male's call is a clear cheeuu, and the wings are used to make a loud snap like a breaking twig, as with other manakins, and various rustling and whiffling noises produced by the modified wings.<p>The female and young males are olive-green with a yellow belly. They are very similar to female white-collared manakin, but there is no range overlap. First-year males have a golden tinge to the breast.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Manacus aurantiacus
- Authority
- (Salvin, 1870)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pipridae
- Genus
- Manacus
Range and habitat
It occurs in the lowlands and foothills of the Pacific slope up to 1100 m, being replaced on the Caribbean slopes of tropical Central America by the closely related white-collared manakin, M. candei, and eastwards of its range to northwestern Colombia by the golden-collared manakin, Manacus vitellinus, of which was formerly considered a subspecies. This is a bird of semi-open moist forest, tall secondary growth, shady plantations and gardens.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like other manakins, this species has a fascinating breeding display at a communal lek. Each male clears a small patch of forest floor up to 120 cm across to bare earth, and leaps to and fro between thin upright bare sticks, giving a loud wing snap. When a female is present males jump together, crossing each other above the bare display court. The throat feathers are also erected to form a beard. The female lays two brown-speckled grey eggs in a shallow cup nest 0.5–2.5 m high in a horizontal tree fork. Nest-building, incubation for 18–21 days, and care of the young are undertaken by the female alone, since manakins do not form stable pairs.<p>The orange-collared manakin feeds low in the trees on fruit and some insects, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Lazuli Bunting
Passerina amoena
Breeding males are unmistakable: bright cerulean above with bold white wingbars, white belly, and orange breast. Females are plain buffy brown with paler wingbars and slightly brighter orangey breast. Breeds on shrubby hillsides and other semiopen habitats in western North America. Males often sing from a high exposed perch. Winters mainly in Mexico, where it frequently gathers in flocks in weedy fields. Females can be very difficult to distinguish from Indigo Bunting, although their range doesn't overlap much. Lazuli never shows streaks below like female Indigo Bunting often does; also note bolder wingbars, brighter breast, and less contrasting pale throat.
Yellow-eyed Junco
Junco phaeonotus
This distinctive sparrow is common in open montane woodland usually dominated by pine. Primarily a Mexican species, barely enters U.S. Much like Gray-headed and Red-backed subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco but with staring yellow eye and rufous back usually extending onto wings. Otherwise pale gray, darkest around the eye. Bill half black, half yellow. White outer tail feathers like Dark-eyed Junco. Forages on the ground, but perches higher when singing. Song has a similar ringing tone to Dark-eyed Junco, but usually with several distinct sections of chips and trills.
Spectacled Petrel
Procellaria conspicillata
Large, stocky, dark petrel. Look for the diagnostic pattern of white “spectacles” on the face. In flight, alternates slow wing beats with glides. Usually seen well offshore in relatively warm waters. Breeds only on Inaccessible Island. The closely-related White-chinned Petrel lacks the white face pattern.
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