Blue-backed manakin | |
---|---|
male | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Pipridae |
Genus: | Chiroxiphia |
Species: | C. pareola |
Binomial name | |
Chiroxiphia pareola (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The blue-backed manakin (Chiroxiphia pareola) is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America, its range extending from Colombia and Tobago to southeastern Brazil. It is found in deciduous forests but not evergreen rainforests. It is a small, plump bird about 13 centimetres (5 in) long. Males have black plumage with a bright blue back and a red or yellow crown. Females and juveniles are olive-green with paler underparts. At breeding time, males are involved in a cooperative lekking behaviour during which they jump and twirl. This is a fairly common species with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
It is found in southern Colombia, eastern Venezuela, the Guyanas, northeast Brazil, the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru; and in Tobago. A disjunct population exists on the coastal strip of southeast Brazil, about 3000 km long. The blue-backed manakin is absent in the northwest Amazon Basin, a region from central Venezuela to the southern border of Colombia. This manakin is a fairly common bird of dry and moist deciduous forests, but not rainforest.
Like other manakins, the 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 bright blue back, and pale orange legs. The crown is typically red, but yellow in C. pareola regina from the south-west Amazon.