Yellow-crowned Manakin Heterocercus flavivertex Scientific name definitions

The large and rather long-tailed Yellow-crowned Manakin is arguably the best known of the trio of bulky manakins that comprise the genus Heterocercus, although most of our cumulative knowledge of our natural history derives from a single study made in southern Venezuela, illustrating once again the relative paucity of information for many Neotropical forest birds. The species is confined to forests north of the Amazon and largely east of the Rio Negro, where it occurs from northern Brazil north to southeast Colombia and southwest Venezuela, but it is generally uncommon and local across much of this range. The Yellow-crowned Manakin generally prefers scrubby, sandy-belt woodland, at the borders of streams and oxbow lakes, as well as seasonally flooded, stunted forests, and it seems commonest in low-canopy woodland on white sand, at least occasionally venturing into open savanna to forage. It is very vocal, singing throughout the day, and the species is easily located when calling.

14 cm; 21 g. Distinctive and unusual manakin with graduated tail (outer rectrices shortest), silky long throat feathers, relatively long and narrow bill. Male has golden-yellow coronal patch (often concealed), rest of head and entire upperparts dark olive, face slaty-coloured; white throat with elongated lateral feathers, sooty-olive band across chest, deep chestnut on breast, becoming paler cinnamon-rufous below, flanks olive; iris dark brown; bill and legs dark; tongue and gape bright yellow (conspicuous when making advertising call). Differs from H. linteatus in having yellow on crown, head concolorous with somewhat paler upperparts. Female resembles male, but no yellow on crown, has grey throat, cinnamon-buff underparts, shorter wings; differs from female H. linteatus in slightly brighter upperparts, darker grey face. Immature male resembles female.

E Colombia, SW Venezuela (extreme SE Apure, Amazonas), and Brazil N of Amazon (R Negro drainage E to W Pará).

Seasonally flooded forest (várzea) and adjacent scrubby woodland, seasonally flooded riparian woodland along black-water streams and oxbow lakes; to c. 300 m.

Resident.

Small fruits and insects. Apparently more insectivorous than typical manakins, this possibly associated with longer, narrower bill. Insects taken from branches and leaves, usually in aerial sallies, rarely when perched . Sometimes briefly joins small mixed-species foraging flocks.

Male advertising call a loud, whistled “weeee-pítch-ooo”, lasting c. 3 seconds, with punctuated or hiccuping cadence; series of chattering “weer-weer-weer” in aggressive interactions; emphatic “chip” in display-flight from perch, and a “whoosh”, probably of mechanical origin.

Breeds in Feb–May (relatively dry season N of Amazon) in Venezuela. Male defends display territory, performs various flight displays, including rising above canopy, also flies rapidly through forest in presumed pursuit of rivals; courtship includes forward-bending while flaring throat feathers, raising and spreading tail, quivering body and tail. Only one nest documented, in Apr, a hanging cup in the fork of a descending tree branch, 2 m above surface of stream; apparently of typical piprid construction but it was abandoned before completion. No other information available.

Not globally threatened. Uncommon to locally fairly common in suitable habitat; occurs in Junglaven Camp, in Venezuela. The only detailed study suggests rather low level of population compared with better-known piprid species.