Manakins

The manakins, belonging to the family Pipridae, are a group of small passerine birds numbering 55 species found throughout the American tropics, from southern Mexico down to northern Argentina, including Trinidad and Tobago. With origins traced back to Middle Dutch for "little man," these birds are compact in build, ranging from 7 to 15 cm in length and weighing between 8 to 30 grams, and exhibit sexual dimorphism with males often displaying more striking colors and elaborate features compared to the duller green females and young males. Known for their distinct syrinx and unique vocalizations, manakins inhabit various forested environments, primarily in humid tropical lowlands and sometimes engage in altitudinal migrations. Their diet mainly consists of small fruits, supplemented occasionally by insects, with females maintaining large territories. Manakins are renowned for their complex courtship behaviors, including lekking—a practice where males impress females at specific display sites through dramatic rituals, which include acoustic signals produced by modified wing feathers in some species. Females solely manage nest construction, egg incubation, and chick-rearing, typically laying a buff or dull-white clutch of two eggs. The diversity within the manakin family is believed to be a result of sexual selection linked to these courtship displays, with their evolutionary history traceable through similarities in their lekking behavior, wing anatomy, and gene expression patterns.