Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin

Overview

The Serra do Mar tyrant-manakin (Neopelma chrysolophum), also known as the Serra do Mar neopelma, is a species of manakin endemic to Brazil. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of Wied's tyrant-manakin but is now recognised as a distinct species, though its taxonomic placement remains unsettled between the genera Neopelma and Protopelma.

Identification

• Measures 13 to 13.5 cm in length and weighs between 13.5 and 14.9 g, with identical plumage in both sexes.
• Features a conspicuous yellow patch on the crown, with olive-green upperparts, wings, and tail, and a pale sulphur-yellow lower breast and belly.
• Possesses a pale grayish mauve iris, a grayish bill, and grayish legs and feet.
• Song consists of a series of random, well-separated notes, described as a slow, staccato sequence such as 'rih-tjew-tjew-tjuh' or 'vrrrrrú'.

Habitat

This species inhabits the Serra do Mar coastal forests in southeastern Brazil, ranging from east-central Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro state south to far southern São Paulo state and possibly into Paraná. It prefers forest edges, dense secondary forest, and areas of stunted woody vegetation between elevations of 1,150 and 1,800 m, while avoiding the forest interior.

Diet

The bird feeds primarily on small fruits and also consumes insects. It forages by plucking or grabbing food from vegetation with a short sally from a perch, occasionally hovering briefly to do so.

Did you know?

Although little is known about its breeding biology, males are known to sing from a horizontal perch. The species was only separated from Wied's tyrant-manakin in 1995, after being described as a subspecies in 1944.