Golden-headed Manakin (Pipra erythrocephala)

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Pipridae | [latin] Pipra erythrocephala | [UK] Golden-headed Manakin | [FR] Manakin a tete rouge | [DE] Goldkopf-Pipra | [ES] Saltarin Cabecidorado | [NL] Goudkopmanakin

The adult male is black apart from a golden cap, white and red thighs, pink legs and a yellowish bill.

The female and young males are olive-green and resemble female White-bearded Manakins, but they have pink legs.

South America : North South America, North Amazonia

This manakin is a common bird of forests, second growth and plantations. It is found in forest and secondary woodland.

The female builds a shallow cup nest low in a tree; two brown-mottled yellowish eggs are laid, and incubated entirely by the female for about 16-17 days. During the mating season, the males join groups of up to 10 species on horizontal perches. From there, they display themselves to the females with several standard movements. The females, in turn, choose those with whom they will mate. The participants in this “dance” become quite noisy, each trying to attract the attention of the females.

Forages for fruit and insects, the latter caught by gleaning and sallying.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,500,000 km2. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as ‘frequent’ in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Sedentary throughout range.