Manacus
Encyclopedia
Manacus is a genus of passerine
bird
s in the manakin
family which are found in the forests of tropical mainland Central
and South America
, and on Trinidad
and Tobago
. There are four species.
The "Almirante Manakin" (Manacus x cerritus) are stereotyped hybrids between the White-collared and the Golden-collared species, found in Bocas del Toro Province
, Panama
(Brumfield et al., 2001; McDonald et al., 2001).
These are small, compact, short-tailed birds with a heavy hooked bill and orange legs. The males have brightly coloured plumage and long puffed throat feathers, whereas the females are the typical manakin dull olive hue.
The females lay two eggs in a shallow cup nest in a tree. 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.
Manacus manakins feed low in the trees on fruit
and some insect
s, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Like some other manakin species, this genus has spectacular courtship rituals, in which the males give communal displays in a specially prepared lek. The males jump with their throat feathers erected to form a beard, and give whistles together with the characteristic loud snaps (like a breaking twig) and various buzzing, rustling and whiffling noises made with the wings.
The males of three very closely related species, the White-collared Manakin of the Caribbean
slopes of Central America, and its Pacific counterparts, the Orange-collared and Golden-collared Manakins, have heavily modified wings with the five outer primaries very narrow for their outer half, and the inner primaries thickened and bowed.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the manakin
Manakin
The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of unique small suboscine passerine birds. The family contains some 60 species. They are distributed through the American tropics...
family which are found in the forests of tropical mainland Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and on Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
. There are four species.
- White-collared ManakinWhite-collared ManakinThe White-collared Manakin, Manacus candei, is a passerine bird in the manakin family. It is a resident breeder in the tropical New World from southeastern Mexico to Costa Rica and the extreme west of Panama....
, Manacus candei - Orange-collared ManakinOrange-collared ManakinThe Orange-collared Manakin, Manacus aurantiacus, is a passerine bird in the manakin family. It is an endemic resident breeder in Costa Rica and western Panama....
, Manacus aurantiacus - Golden-collared ManakinGolden-collared ManakinThe Golden-collared Manakin is a species of bird in the Pipridae family.It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest....
, Manacus vitellinus - White-bearded ManakinWhite-bearded ManakinThe White-bearded Manakin, Manacus manacus, is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. It is found from Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Bolivia and northern Argentina....
, Manacus manacus
The "Almirante Manakin" (Manacus x cerritus) are stereotyped hybrids between the White-collared and the Golden-collared species, found in Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. Its extension is 4,643.9 square kilometers comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante , Laguna de Chiriquí , and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro on Isla...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
(Brumfield et al., 2001; McDonald et al., 2001).
These are small, compact, short-tailed birds with a heavy hooked bill and orange legs. The males have brightly coloured plumage and long puffed throat feathers, whereas the females are the typical manakin dull olive hue.
The females lay two eggs in a shallow cup nest in a tree. 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.
Manacus manakins feed low in the trees on fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and some insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, both plucked from the foliage in flight.
Like some other manakin species, this genus has spectacular courtship rituals, in which the males give communal displays in a specially prepared lek. The males jump with their throat feathers erected to form a beard, and give whistles together with the characteristic loud snaps (like a breaking twig) and various buzzing, rustling and whiffling noises made with the wings.
The males of three very closely related species, the White-collared Manakin of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
slopes of Central America, and its Pacific counterparts, the Orange-collared and Golden-collared Manakins, have heavily modified wings with the five outer primaries very narrow for their outer half, and the inner primaries thickened and bowed.