The snow-capped manakin is a species of bird in the family Pipridae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.
Region
Southwestern Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland tropical rainforest of southwestern Amazonia, chiefly in Brazil (Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Amazonas) and adjacent northern Bolivia (notably Pando and Beni). It favors terra firme forest with a dense understory, also using forest edges and moderately disturbed secondary growth where fruiting shrubs are abundant. Birds are most often in the lower to mid understory, moving through vine tangles and along shaded trails. Leks are typically placed in quiet understory openings within mature forest.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Males gather at leks, where they perform rapid hops, short flights, and wing-snaps to attract females. The species is a key participant in a remarkable case of hybrid speciation: it hybridized with the opal-crowned manakin, giving rise to the golden-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix vilasboasi) in Brazil. It is typically quiet and unobtrusive, often detected by its thin, high-pitched notes and mechanical wing sounds. Females alone build and tend the nest and young.
Temperament
shy but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick darting flights
Social Behavior
Males are strongly lekking and display on small perches a few meters apart, performing hops, short flights, and wing-snaps. They are polygynous; females select mates at leks. Nests are small, delicate cups placed low in understory forks, built and attended solely by the female.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are thin, high-pitched notes and brief whistles, often given singly or in short series. Display includes audible mechanical wing-snaps and whirs that carry through the understory.
Plumage
Male is glossy black with a striking, pure white, snow-like cap; female is olive-green above with yellowish-olive underparts and lacks the white cap. Both sexes have compact bodies with short tails and smooth, sleek feathering typical of manakins.
Diet
Primarily small, soft fruits and berries from understory shrubs and midstory trees, including melastomes and other fleshy-fruited plants. It supplements with small arthropods, gleaned quietly from foliage or taken in short sallies. By swallowing fruits whole and defecating seeds, it acts as a seed disperser in terra firme forests.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in the shaded understory and midstory, especially at fruiting shrubs along forest trails, gaps, and edges. It will also use secondary growth where fruit is abundant, moving methodically between known fruiting sites.
