Painted Manakin
Machaeropterus eckelberryi
This recently described species is known only from a small area of the eastern Andes in northern Peru. Male has a bright red cap and candy-cane striped underparts. Female is very dull with olive upperparts and pale yellow lower underparts; breast is olive with faint white streaks. Very similar to Striolated Manakin, but male has yellow (not red) on the sides of the breast, and red crown does not extend to nape. Females are almost identical. Inhabits lower levels of foothill cloud forest. Call is an inflected squeak given at regular intervals.
Taxonomy
The painted manakin was described by the American ornithologist Daniel Lane and colleagues in 2017 and given the binomial name Machaeropterus eckelberryi. The specific epithet was chosen to commemorate the American bird artist Donald R. Eckelberry (1921-2000). The species is placed in the genus Machaeropterus that was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854.<p>The painted manakin was described as a new species based solely on the differences in vocalization. It is morphologically identical to one of the subspecies of the striolated manakin (M. striolatus aureopectus). No genetic evidence has been published. The species is found on the eastern flanks of the Cordillera Escalera and Cordillera Azul near the valley of the Rio Mayo in the San Martín and Loreto Regions of Peru.<p>The painted manakin has been recognised as a valid species by the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society and by Frank Gill and David Donsker who maintain a list of bird species on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee.
- Scientific name
- Machaeropterus eckelberryi
- Authority
- Lane, Kratter & O'Neill, 2017
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pipridae
- Genus
- Machaeropterus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Pretty waxbill that is gray, black, and white, with red highlights. The bright red rump is conspicuous in flight. Found along forest edge and clearings, usually in grassy areas, in pairs or small flocks. The calls include high-pitched “tsik” and “tseet” notes which are often given in chorus by a flock, especially in flight. Similar to Black-crowned Waxbill, but darker and browner overall, with a black rather than white undertail.
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Poorly known Peruvian endemic found only in high Andean cloud forest northeast of the city of Huancayo. It was described to science in 2013. Adult male is plain gray, lacking the rufous barring on the lower underparts shown by Rufous-vented Tapaculo and Trilling Tapaculo. Female plumage not yet known with certainty. Younger birds are heavily marked with bars or scales. Best identified by range and voice. Typical song is a lengthy series that starts out with simple notes and gradually transitions into sputtering bursts.
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