Chiroxiphia linearis
The Long-tailed Manakin, *Chiroxiphia linearis*, is a small, stunning passerine bird known for its elaborate cooperative courtship displays. Males are instantly recognizable with their brilliant scarlet crown, iridescent sky-blue mantle and rump, and velvety black body plumage, punctuated by strikingly elongated black central tail feathers that can add another 8-12 cm to their overall length of 11-13 cm. Females, in stark contrast, are duller olive-green with a paler belly and lack the elonga...
Found in the understory and mid-story of humid to semi-deciduous forests, secondary growth, and shaded coffee plantations, typically from sea level up to 1200-1500 meters.
Primarily frugivorous, consuming small berries and drupes (especially those from Melastomataceae, Rubiaceae, and Araliaceae families), supplemented with insects caught via sallies or gleaning from foliage.
Long-tailed Manakins are diurnal, spending their days foraging and, for males, participating in complex lekking displays. Males engage in highly cooperative courtship, where groups of two to four (often an alpha and a beta male) perform a synchronized 'four-manakin dance' for visiting females, in...
The Long-tailed Manakin is a resident species, distributed along the Pacific slope of Central America. Its breeding and year-round range extends from southern Mexico (southeastern Chiapas) through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, reaching its southern limit in northwestern Costa R...
Least Concern
- The male Long-tailed Manakin's central tail feathers can be as long as its entire body, including the head and beak! - These birds perform one of the most elaborate cooperative courtship dances in the avian world, often involving up to four males. - The 'four-manakin dance' is a precisely chore...