From Opus

Photo by Steve G
Photographed: Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima valley, Trinidad

Pipra erythrocephala

Dixiphia erythrocephala

[edit] Identification

Male: yellow head, black body, white iris and pale bill.

[edit] Distribution

Central America: Panama
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guianas, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil (only north of the Amazon).

Male and female. Photo by petersheikhli
Photographed: Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima valley, Trinidad, January 2007

[edit] Taxonomy

Some authors^[2] place this species in genus Dixiphia.

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

• P. e. erythrocephala:

• Eastern Panama to the Guianas and Brazil north of River Amazon; Trinidad

• P. e. berlepschi:

• Tropical south-eastern Colombia to north-eastern Peru and western Amazonian Brazil

• P. e. flammiceps:

• Eastern Colombia (Santander)

[edit] Habitat

Forest and woodland including second growth on firm ground but mostly humid lowland (to 500 m in most of range, double that sometimes).

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

Males spend most of their lives at the lek whilst females are life-long single mothers. Leks are typically high up in the canopy & difficult to observe. Display groups contain 6-20 males who call, jump and 'moonwalk' along thin horizontal branches.

[edit] Diet

These birds feed on the fruits of Melastomaceae which are so easy to collect that only an hour or so each day is spent foraging. Also berries and insects are included in the diet. Most fouraging occur at mid to low height in the forest.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Avibase
4. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156

• List of references

[edit] External Links

• View movie-file of this species (in Picasa video format) here