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White-Bearded Manakin

David Attenborough presents the white-bearded manakin of tropical South America.

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Sir David Attenborough presents the White-Bearded manakin of tropical South America. The sound of party-poppers exploding in a forest clearing tells you that white-bearded manakins are displaying at a lek. At a carefully chosen spot each male clears the forest floor of leaves and other debris before his performance begins. The commonest display is the snap-jump. As he jumps forward he strikes the back of his wings together creating a loud snapping sound followed by an excited "pee-you" call. Snap-jumps are often followed by grunt jumps or a manoeuvre known as "slide-down-the-pole". These displays continue throughout the day, but intensify when females visit.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

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1 minute

Last on

Thu 26 Oct 202305:58

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White-bearded manakin (Manacus manacus)

Webpage image courtesy of Nigel Bean / naturepl.com

NPL Ref 01055017 © Nigel Bean / naturepl.com

Recording of white-bearded manakin by Curtis A Marantz / Ref: ML 117134

This programme contains a wildtrack recording of the white-bearded manakin kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; recorded by Curtis A Marantz, 23 Jan 1997 in Brazil.

Broadcasts

  • Wed 10 Sep 201405:58
  • Sun 14 Sep 201408:58
  • Tue 15 Sep 201505:58
  • Wed 22 Aug 201805:58
  • Sun 31 Jan 202108:58
  • Thu 26 Oct 202305:58

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