Blue-backed Manakin
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| Chiroxiphia pareola (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The Blue-backed Manakin, Chiroxiphia pareola, is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. It is found in southern Colombia, eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil in the northeast and the Amazon basin, and in Tobago.
This manakin is a fairly common bird of dry and moist deciduous forests, but not rainforest. The female builds a twig nest in tree; two brown-mottled white eggs are laid, and incubated entirely by the female for about 20 days.
Like other manakins, Blue-backed Manakin is a compact, brightly coloured forest bird, typically 13 cm long and weighing 19 g. The male is mainly black, with a red crown patch, bright blue back, and pale orange legs.
The female has olive-green upperparts, and somewhat paler olive underparts. Young males are olive, but show a red cap and the start of a blue back as they mature.
The race endemic to Tobago, C. p. atlantica is larger and has more extensive red on the crown and blue on the back; it may be a separate species.
This species is similar to Lance-tailed Manakin, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, which breeds further north from northern Venezuela to Costa Rica, but the latter has elongated central tail feathers, and the male has a somewhat brighter blue back.
The male Blue-backed Manakin has a fascinating breeding display, unusual in that it is cooperative rather than competitive. Two males perch next to each other on a bare stick and jump up and down alternately, giving a buzzing call. When a female approaches, the perched bird moves backwards under the jumping bird, so the two perform a vertical circling movement. Groups of up to eight birds may perform together, with a different stick for each pair of displaying males.
Apart from the buzzing display song, Blue-backed Manakin has a number of other calls, including a whee-whee-CHUP, sometimes given by two male in synchrony.
These manakins eat fruit and some insects.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Chiroxiphia pareola. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd edition, Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
- In pursuit of Pawi by Rymer (video) for display.
