St. George, Trinidad; 28 February 2011 © Robert Lewis

Golden-headed Manakin is fairly common in lowland forest and taller second growth in eastern Panama and in northern South America. The male is the only manakin with an entirely black body and bright golden head. The dull olive female is much more cryptic, but the combination of pale bill, small size, and square-tipped tail is subtly distinctive. As in other manakins, non-displaying birds are very difficult to spot, and usually are observed feeding at fruiting trees or shrubs. Once a lek of males is discovered, however, their bizarre displays can be observed at length. In this species, males hop, fly rapidly between perches, and shimmy along branches, all the while producing various buzzes, trills, and chips.

Recommended Citation

Tamanini, Julie, Hilary Albers, and Wendy Tori. 2012. Golden-headed Manakin (Pipra erythrocephala), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=%0A%09%09%09%09505196