His electric blue outfit, together with his equally striking bright red hat and orange legs, make him incredibly unique.
Chiroxiphia caudata, often known as the swallow-tailed manakin or blue manakin, is a tiny species of bird in the Pipridae family. They are by far the Manakin with the most blue in their plumage, having sometimes been referred to as the “swallow-tailed manakin.” To the extent that the wings, tail, and head are all black with the exception of the vivid red cap, the body is nearly all brilliant blue.
The female’s colour is a duller shade of greenish-brown in comparison to the male.
Up until they grow their red crown, juvenile males typically resemble adult females.
The Atlantic Forests of far north-eastern Argentina, eastern Paraguay, and southeast Brazil are the primary habitats for these birds.
Subtropical or tropical wet lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and/or severely degraded former forests are the preferred habitats for blue manakins.
The primary foods that blue manakins consume are insects and tiny fruits and berries. They frequently consume while hovering close to a limb or darting up to get food before going back to their perch.
Blue-backed male Manakins exhibit cooperative mating behaviour as opposed to competing mating behaviour. Specifically, two males would sit adjacent to one another and alternately leap up and down while buzzing. The male who is perching moves under the other male that is leaping when a female who is interested in him arrives. He then makes a vertical circle. The female then constructs a next using branches from a selected tree. She will lay two white eggs with brown mottling and incubate them for up to 20 days. She raises the chicks by herself as well.
This bird is common, has a very extensive range, and probably has a huge overall population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the bird’s conservation status as “least concern,” and the population trend is believed to be steady.
