Cinnamon Neopipo

Overview

The cinnamon neopipo, also known as the cinnamon manakin-tyrant (Neopipo cinnamomea), is a small bird belonging to the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the sole member of its genus and is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Length of 9.1 to 9.5 cm with a weight of approximately 7 g.
• Dull gray crown, face, and back featuring a partially hidden yellow patch in the center of the crown, with rufous lower back, rump, and tail.
• Buffy to orange-cinnamon throat and underparts, with a narrow black bill that has an orange base and blue-gray or dusky gray legs.
• Song consists of a long series of extremely high-pitched 'fee' notes lasting five to seven seconds, accompanied by a high, thin, gliding-down 'seeeu' call.

Habitat

Found across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, the species inhabits terra firme forest, particularly on white sandy soils. Its elevation range extends from sea level to 1,000 m in Brazil, though it is generally found at lower altitudes in other regions such as 400 m in Colombia and Ecuador, 700 m in Peru, and 200 m in Venezuela.

Diet

The cinnamon neopipo feeds on arthropods, typically foraging singly rather than joining mixed-species flocks. It perches in the forest's mid-level to subcanopy and captures prey with short sallies to grab them from the underside of leaves.

Did you know?

Originally described by George Newbold Lawrence as a member of the manakin family Pipridae, the species underwent a taxonomic shift by the late twentieth century to be placed in its own genus, Neopipo, within the tyrant flycatcher family.