The manakins are a
family, Pipridae, of small
suboscine passerine birds. The group contains some 54
species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch ''mannekijn'' "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
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
is short and has a wide gap. Females and first-year males have dull green plumage; most species are
sexually dichromatic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most anim ...
in their
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
,
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.
The
syrinx
In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, sh ...
or "voicebox" is distinctive in manakins, setting them apart from the related families
Cotingidae and
Tyrannidae. Furthermore, it is so acutely variable within the group that genera and even species may be identified by the syrinx alone, unlike birds of most
oscine families. The sounds made are whistles, trills, and buzzes.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
Manakins occur from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, and on Trinidad and Tobago as well. They are highly arboreal and are almost exclusively forest and woodland birds. Most species live in humid tropical lowlands, with a few in dry forests, river forests,[ and the subtropical Andes.][Snow, D. W. (2004). Family Pipridae (Manakins). Pp. 110-169 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. A. eds (2004). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 9. Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ] Some highland species have altitudinal migration
Altitudinal migration is a short-distance animal migration from lower altitudes to higher altitudes and back. Altitudinal migrants change their elevation with the seasons making this form of animal migration seasonal. Altitudinal migration can be m ...
s.
Behaviour and ecology
Feeding
Manakins feed in the understorey on small fruit (but often remarkably large for the size of the bird[) including berries, and to a lesser degree, insects. Since they take fruit in flight as other species "]hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
" for insects, they are believed to have evolved from insect-eating birds. Females have big territories from which they do not necessarily exclude other birds of their species, instead feeding somewhat socially. Males spend much of their time together at courtship sites. Manakins sometimes join mixed feeding flocks.[
]
Reproduction
Many manakin species have spectacular lekking
A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. A lek can also indicate an avail ...
courtship rituals, which are especially elaborate in the genera ''Pipra
''Pipra'' is a genus of birds in the manakin family Pipridae.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus ''Pipra'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1764. The name was used by Ancient Greek authors such as Aristotle for a small ...
'' and ''Chiroxiphia
''Chiroxiphia'' is one of several genera of manakins, small song birds of South and Central America.
The male plumage is a striking combination of black and bright blue. The crown is red, except in the yellow-crowned ''C. pareola regina''. Fe ...
''. The members of the genera ''Machaeropterus
''Machaeropterus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the manakin family Pipridae. They are found in the tropical forests of South America.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Machaeropterus'' was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in ...
'' and ''Manacus
''Manacus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the manakin family which are found in the forests of tropical mainland Central and South America, and on Trinidad and Tobago.
The genus ''Manacus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Ja ...
'' have heavily modified wing feathers
Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...
, which they use to make buzzing and snapping sounds. Members of ''Manacus
''Manacus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the manakin family which are found in the forests of tropical mainland Central and South America, and on Trinidad and Tobago.
The genus ''Manacus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Ja ...
'' and ''Ceratopipra
''Ceratopipra'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Pipridae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Ceratopipra'' was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with the scarlet-horned manakin as the type species. The name '' ...
'' have superfast wing movements, thought to have evolved through a gradual process of gene expression changes throughout manakin evolution.
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
The helmeted manakin (''Antilophia galeata'') is a species of smallpasserine bird in the manakin family Pipridae. Unlike most manakins, a family associated with tropical rainforests, the helmeted manakin inhabits the seasonally dry Cerrado savann ...
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.[
Lekking polygyny seems to have been a characteristic of the family's original ancestor, and the associated sexual selection led to an ]adaptive radiation
In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic int ...
in which relationships may be traced by similarities in displays. An evolutionary explanation connecting lekking to fruit-eating has been proposed.[
]
Species list
The family Pipridae was introduced (as Pipraria) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
in 1815.[Remsen, J. V. Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, & K. J. Zimmer. 2007]
''A classification of the bird species of South America.''
American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 12 December 2007.
References
Further reading
*
External links
"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
from the Ecology Online Sweden website
{{Authority control
Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics
*
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque