Animalia Life

Pipra erythrocephala
SUBFAMILY
Piprinae
TAXONOMY
Pipra erythrocephala Linnaeus, 1758.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Manakin а tкte d’or; German: Goldkopfpipra; Spanish: Saltarнn Cabecidorado.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Sexes differ. Length is 3.6 in (9.1 cm). The male is glossy black with a brilliant golden-yellow head; thighs are red and white. Adult males have white eyes. The female is dull olive with gray eyes. Bills are yellowish white and legs are pale or flesh-toned in both sexes.
DISTRIBUTION
Eastern Panama southward to northeast Peru, Brazil north of the Amazon, the Guianas, and quite numerous on Trinidad.
HABITAT
Upper understory and middle growth of both humid and relatively deciduous forest and mature secondary woodland.
BEHAVIOR
Lek displays are noisy and conspicuous. Pairs of males often seem to be competing with each other. Established males may maintain their residency at the lek for up to eight years. In typical manakin fashion, the males reach a fevered pitch of display when a female approaches, and in full display expose their red and white thigh feathers.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Small fruits and insects are taken during quick, sallying flights. Feed at fruiting trees up to the height of the forest canopy.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Following copulation, the female alone builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and raises the young. The nest is a thinly woven cup of fibers attached to a horizontal fork in branches located 3.3–33 feet (1–10 m) off the ground. The eggs, usually two, are pale greenish yellow with many brown streaks around the large end of the shell.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Rather common in preferred habitats.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Eco-tourists and birdwatchers enjoy seeing the males.

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