Lance-tailed Manakin

Like other manakins, the lance-tailed manakin is a compact, brightly coloured forest bird, typically 13.5 cm long and weighing 17.5 g. Both sexes have bring orange legs and two central tail feathers elongated to form a spike. Females are olive-green, with slightly paler underparts. Most females are solid green, however, a small portion have tawny or red caps. Adult males are mostly black, with a red cap and sky-blue back. Young males are olive but show a red cap and the start of a blue back as they mature. Male lance-tailed manakins do not reach their full adult plumage until approximately 26 months after hatching. This species is similar to blue-backed manakin, Chiroxiphia pareola, which breeds further south and east, but the latter lacks the spiky tail, and the male has a somewhat darker blue back.

The male lance-tailed manakin has an interesting breeding display, unusual in that it is cooperative rather than competitive. Two males perch next to each other on a bare stick and jump up and down alternately, sometimes giving short flights. Groups of birds may perform together, with a different stick for each pair of displaying males. The female builds a cup nest in a tree; two brown-mottled cream eggs are laid, and incubated entirely by the female for about 20 days. The lance-tailed manakin has a number of calls, including a Toe-LEE-do, a curry-ho, and a frog-like buzzing croak given by displaying males. These manakins eat fruit and some insects.