Blue-backed Manakin - BirdForum Opus

Male on left, female on right
Photo by Steve G
Main ridge reserve, Tobago, July 2006

Chiroxiphia pareola

Identification

13cm
Male

• Bright blue back
• Red crown
• Rest of plumage black
• Pale orange legs
  

Immature Male
Photo by Dave B Smith
Main Ridge, Tobago, April 2010

Female

• Olive-green upperparts
• Paler olive underparts

Distribution

Caribbean and South America
Caribbean: Tobago
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil

Taxonomy

Has been considered conspecific with Yungas Manakin in the past.

Subspecies^[1]

There are 4 subspecies:

• C. p. atlantica: bigger and brighter than those on the mainland

• Tobago

• C. p. napensis:

• Tropical south-eastern Colombia (east of the Andes) to eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru

• C. p. pareola:

• Eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, northern and eastern Amazonian Brazil

• C. p. regina:

• Tropical north-eastern Peru (south of River Amazon) and western Amazonian Brazil

Habitat

Rainforests and secondary woodland.

Behaviour

Breeding

Males gather in display leks to attract females and, like most manakins, it has a spectacular courtship display consisting of several males cartwheeling over each other in front of a suitable female.

The female is entirely responsible for building the twig nest and the rearing of the young. The clutch consists of 2 white eggs with brown mottling which are incubated for 20 days.

Diet

The diet includes figs, small fruits and insects.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue-backed Manakin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-backed_Manakin

External Links

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