Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin Neopelma chrysolophum Scientific name definitions

Until very recently this Brazilian endemic was considered conspecific with the Wied’s Tyrant-Manakin (Neopelma aurifrons), which largely replaces the Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin to the north and at lower elevations in the Atlantic Forest region. The two differ chiefly in vocal characteristics, with the present species’ song being longer and more complex than that of its presumed sister species. Given the long obscurity that this species has ‘endured’, it is perhaps surprising that this is far the easier of the two Neopelma endemic to the Atlantic Forest to find, especially given knowledge of its voice. Confined to a relatively small area of southeast Brazil, from east-central Minas Gerais south through Rio de Janeiro state to southernmost São Paulo, the Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin generally appears to shun the forest interior, being found in dense and moderately low-stature edge growth, especially where there are many bamboos and ferns, and it will also inhabit secondary forest.

Coastal SE Brazil from EC Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro S to extreme S São Paulo and probably also adjacent E Paraná.