Black Manakin

Overview

The black manakin (Xenopipo atronitens) is a small, sexually dimorphic bird in the family Pipridae. It is found across a disjunct range in South America and inhabits various open landscapes.

Identification

• Males are glossy black with duller, browner wings and tails, while females have dark olive upperparts, greyish throats, and yellowish olive underparts.
• A small bird, 12 to 13 cm long, with a heavy bill that is pale bluish grey in males and two-toned in females.
• Both sexes possess dark brown irises and dark olive-grey legs and feet.
• Vocalisations include loud, sharp calls such as 'skee! kip-kip-kip-krrr' and a dry, rattling 'trrrrrrrrrup'.

Habitat

This species has a highly disjunct distribution across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It inhabits open landscapes including savanna woodlands, thickets, gallery forest, and stunted várzea, often on nutrient-poor sandy soils. Elevations typically range below 500 m in Colombia and up to 1,200 m in Venezuela.

Diet

The black manakin feeds on fruits and insects, which it grabs from foliage and branches using short sallies from a perch. It usually forages singly, though two or three individuals may feed in the same tree, and it regularly joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Males display at leks to attract females, but the display is described as 'unspectacular, no more than calling and chasing'.