Red-capped manakin

Appearance

The red-capped manakin is a small passerine, measuring 4 in in length and weighing 16 g. The male is velvety black apart from a bright red head and nape, bright yellow thighs, and a pale yellow chin and wing linings. The female is olive green above, with paler, more yellow-green underparts. Both sexes have dull brown legs. The male's irides are white, while those of the female and young are brown.

While the adult male is distinctive, the female and youngsters can be confused with several similar species. The male golden-collared manakin is larger, and has orange legs, while the female velvety manakin is a brighter green.

Behavior

The bird is probably best known for the male's unusual courting method whereby he shuffles rapidly backwards across a branch, akin to a speedy moonwalk.

Habitat

Found primarily in humid forest and second growth woodland, the red-capped manakin typically occurs below 400–500 m above sea level, though it sometimes ranges as high as 900 m. Most are resident, but some individuals are known to migrate to take advantage of changing food resources: the number of red-capped manakins caught in mist nets at La Selva Biological Reserve, in eastern Costa Rica, tripled in January and February, when a favored fruit ripened, for example, while the number caught at a nearby higher elevation site dropped to zero.

Food

The red-capped manakin is a frugivore, feeding almost exclusively on fruits. These pass very quickly through the bird's digestive system, typically taking less than 18 minutes to process. Seeds from a variety of plants are consumed; one study in Costa Rica found evidence of 70 species, including those from the genera "Clidemia", "Hampea", "Henriettea", "Leandra", "Miconia", "Ossaea", "Pinzona" and "Psychotria", in the fecal droppings of red-capped manakins.