Bird
White-bearded Manakin
Manacus manacus
The White-bearded Manakin is one of the great showmen of Trinidad's forest understorey, a tiny black-and-white bird whose elaborate competitive courtship display at traditional forest leks is one of the most studied and photographed wildlife spectacles in Caribbean natural history. Males gather at cleared forest floor arenas, producing rapid mechanical wing snaps, jumping between saplings, and fanning their white throat feathers in a display that has fascinated ornithologists and filmmakers for decades.
Identification
The White-bearded Manakin is a small, compact bird measuring 10 to 11 cm. Males are jet black above with a brilliant white breast, throat, and distinctive white "beard" of fluffy throat feathers that are fanned and spread during display. The legs are orange-red. Females are entirely olive-green with orange-red legs, similar to other manakins and easily overlooked. The bill is short and broad, adapted for taking small fruits. Both sexes have an unusually short, stiff tail.
Lek Display
Male White-bearded Manakins display at traditional leks on the forest floor: cleared patches of bare earth between low saplings that males maintain communally but compete within intensely. At a lek, males produce extraordinarily rapid mechanical sounds with specialised wing feathers, including sharp snapping cracks, buzzing rolls, and the characteristic "tseeeow" call, leaping and pivoting between vertical saplings at high speed. Each male occupies a specific court within the lek; dominant males in the centre obtain the majority of matings. Females visit leks to choose a mate but receive no parental assistance; they build small cup nests and raise chicks alone in the forest. The display behaviour at T&T leks has been continuously studied for decades, making this one of the best-documented manakin populations in the world.
Status in T&T
The White-bearded Manakin is found throughout Trinidad in forest interior, secondary forest, and shaded plantation understorey. It is absent from Tobago. Traditional lek sites in the Northern Range and at Asa Wright Nature Centre are visited by birdwatchers from around the world. The species is fully protected under the Conservation of Wild Life Act and is not a game species. Its dependence on intact forest understorey makes it sensitive to forest fragmentation, though it tolerates some secondary growth.
Threats
- Forest understorey loss
- Forest fragmentation disrupting lek sites