Bird Guide

Blue-backed Manakin vs Lance-tailed Manakin

Blue-backed Manakin (Chiroxiphia pareola)

Blue-backed Manakin

Chiroxiphia pareola

Small17 gForest

Like other manakins, the blue-backed manakin is a compact, brightly coloured forest bird, typically 13 cm long and weighing 19 g. The male is mainly black with a bright blue back, and pale orange legs. The crown is typically red, but yellow in C. pareola regina from the south-west Amazon. The female has olive-green upperparts, and somewhat paler olive underparts. Young males are olive, but show a red cap and the start of a blue back as they mature. The race endemic to Tobago, C. p. atlantica is larger and has more extensive red on the crown and blue on the back.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Blue-backed Manakin
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, calls · Pastaza: Churunalpi, 5 km N Canelos, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0
Lance-tailed Manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata)

Lance-tailed Manakin

Chiroxiphia lanceolata

Small19 gWoodland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Lance-tailed Manakin
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz @rosaelena_naturaleza · Song · Los Caracas, La Guaira, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: Vertebrate Zoology Curator · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-backed Manakin and Lance-tailed Manakin.