The Blue Crown Manakin - A Bird Who'll Definitely Catch Your Attention

This beautiful chubby bird wears black feathers with a stunning blue crown

Lakeisha

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 10, 2021

Meet the blue-crowned manakin, scientifically known as "Lepidothrix coronata". These tiny little birds belong to the Pipridae family, which consists of about 54 other small bird species found mostly in the American tropics.

Male blue-crowned manikins weigh anywhere between 8.5 grams and 9.5 grams, whereas female manikins weigh 9.8 grams on average and a maximum weight of 11.5 grams. The visual way to tell them apart is through the feathers they wear!

While males are mostly covered in deep black feathers with a tinge of green and a bright blue crown, females are mostly green. Although males of other subspecies have a bright green body and a striking blue crown, it's unclear how subspecies have different colors.

The blue-crowned manikin can be found in tropical rainforests and other mature forests of Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, and northern parts of Brazil. They're easily located from sea level to an altitude of about 1.400 m.

When it comes to diet, these birds prefer to eat small fruits and berries. As far as breeding is concerned, they mate anywhere from February to June.

To attract suitable females, the males gather in leks and perform a simple act of display, post which they mate and part ways. That's right, after mating, male birds take no part in building a nest or raising offspring.

It's the females who build nests using fibers, leaves, and moss. They carefully build a bowl-shaped nest in the fork of a branch at least two meters above the ground.

After building the nest, females lay two eggs each and incubate them for about 19 days. Their eggs are white with random reddish-brown spots.

About 15 days after the chicks hatch, they're ready to leave the nest in an attempt to survive and start their own lives! Miraculous isn't it?

Let's find out more about these stunning little birds!

First described in 1825

German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix formally described these birds in 1825 under the name Pipra coronata. Then, in 1854, they were classified as Lepidothrix by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

How they communicate

They communicate with each other using a "swee" sound. Territorial males make the "chi-wrrr" sound when making an advertisement call.

The birds make the "preew" sound when communicating with others in their territory and during display, the males make the "pee" sound.

Breeding facts

We learned previously that during breeding males form leks, but some males are known to go solo. When seven male birds come together, they form a lek.

Adult birds and juveniles come together to form leks and perform a simple display and/or belt-out tunes in an attempt to attract mates.

During the breeding season, birds who decide to sing to mate perch on twigs and sing between 6 am and 5 pm!

Hearing Range and Decibel

Their hearing range is 5,000 Hz and their hearing threshold is 10 dB!

Threats

Although these birds are not endangered, they're exposed to high predation rates. According to experts, about 70% of their nests fall due to predator attacks.

Experts believe that only 7.5% of the nests are built to withstand predator attacks and are safe enough to fledge the chicks. Despite the fact that 70% of their nests don't survive, experts aren't sure how these birds maintain their population size.

Parasitic Infections

According to studies, a majority of these birds are infected with haemosporidian parasites. Based on a study conducted by a group of experts, 50% of the samples collected from blue-crowned manakins were infected with blood parasites.

Young birds are more prone to blood infections than adult birds.

Check out this beautiful bird in action:

In Summary

The blue-crowned manakin is a sight to behold! While some birds have a blue crown, others come in black and green crowns.

Experts haven't been able to understand the relationship between the subspecies, nevertheless, they're just as stunning.

Lakeisha