White-bearded Manakin

Sightings
White-bearded Manakin is an often seen species in the rainforests of the Asa Wright Centre in Trinidad. There is a lek along the main trail from the lodge and it is possible to see several males dispalying at the same time with a group of females watching the action. This paticular male bird was photographed away from the main lek and much closer to the lodge. Although I didn’t see the species on the feeders at any time, it does come close to and is sometimes visible from the verandah of the lodge.

Species
White-bearded manakin Manacus manacus is found in forests, secondary growth and plantations. The male has a fascinating breeding display at a communal lek. Each male clears a patch of forest floor to bare earth, and perches on a bare stick or branch. The display consists of rapid leaps between sticks and the ground, accompanied by a loud wing snap, the whirring of the wings, and a chee-poo call. Groups of up to 70 birds may perform together, the largest leks being in Trinidad. There are a remarkable 15 subspecies of which M. m. trinitatis is endemic to Trinidad.

Status and distribution
A species of least concern with a stable population in a large breeding range of some 13 million square kilometres. It is a small passerine which breeds in tropical South America. It is found from Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Bolivia and northern Argentina. In South America, two thirds of its range is in the combined Amazon Basin, the Guianas, and the Orinoco River drainage of Venezuela; also eastern Colombia.

References
Asa Wright Centre; BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 206.

Photograph
1/500th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 1000.