Golden-headed manakin

Pipra erythrocephala

(Photo from Flickr)

Common name:
golden-headed manakin (en); cabeça-de-ouro (pt); manakin à tête d'or (fr); saltarín cabecidorado (es); gelbkopfpipra (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Pipridae

Range:
These birds are found in northern South America, from Southern panama, through Colombia and Venezuela and into the Guyanas, eastern Ecuador, northern Peru and Brazil north of the Amazon river. They are also found in Trinidad and Tobago.

Size:
The golden-headed manakin is 9-10 cm long and weighs 12-14 g.

Habitat:
These birds are mainly found in the under and midstory of tropical moist forests, but also to some extent in second growths and plantations. they occur from sea level up to an altitude of 2.o00 m.

Diet:
They are frugivorous, taking small fruits which are plucked while in flight or gleaned from the foliage. Their diet is mainly composed of the fruits of Melastomaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, Araliaceae, Rubiaceae and Araceae.

Breeding:
Golden-headed manakins breed all year round. The males are polygamous, forming a lek where they perform a display to attract females. After copulating with the females the males have no further part in the breeding process. The female builds a shallow cup nest made of
plant fibres, rootlets and a few dead leaves. The nest is placed in a fork in a tree or scrub, typically up to 3 m above the ground, but occasionally as high as 11 m above the ground. There she lays 1-2 yellowish eggs with brown mottles, which she incubates alone for 16-19 days. The chicks are fed by the female alone and fledge 14-20 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. Although the golden-headed manakin is widespread and has a stable population, current rates of deforestation in the Amazon basin may pose a future threat to this species.