FAMILY PIPRIDAE 309 



American bird the male has only the space on the throat immediately 

 below the bill feathered, the rest of the foreneck and upper breast, 

 with the sides, being completely bare, with the skin brightly colored. 

 The female also has this area partly bare. The two groups are so 

 distinct and so widely separated geographically that subspecific status 

 is not justified. 



Family PIPRIDAE: Manakins, Saltarines 



This family of South American origin is closely related to the 

 cotingas, with the possibility that the two when more fully known may 

 not be separable at the family level. In present understanding the 56 

 species recognized are resident in tropical areas, mainly in the 

 southern continent, but with 1 1 that range into Panama. Beyond the 

 isthmus to the north they diminish rapidly in variety, with six kinds 

 recorded in Honduras, and finally only four that reach southern 

 Mexico. Size in most is small, with males marked by contrasting 

 patterns of brilliant color, and the females by plain, dull coloration. 



Manakins are inhabitants of thickets and forested lands, living 

 partly on berries, and partly on a variety of insects. The smaller kinds 

 do not form pairs, but in the nesting season males gather in as- 

 semblages spread through the forest cover. Here each has a small, 

 open display area where the ground is cleared of leaves and other 

 debris. For part of the day. especially in morning, they rest on 

 branches above or at the side. When females appear the males with 

 low calls and a variety of explosive noises move quickly over the space 

 for display. The sounds that mark their movements are not vocal, 

 but are produced mechanically by abrupt activities of the wings 

 in which some of the feathers are thickened or otherwise specialized. 



After mating, females seek suitable cover in which to build nests, 

 lay their eggs, and begin incubation. Males have no part in this, nor 

 do they assist in feeding the young. The mating displays readily 

 attract attention, and with patience may be observed without especial 

 difficulty. The nests in the dense cover of forest are less easily 

 located as the females move and live quietly so that they are little 

 noticed. Nests and eggs of a number of kinds remain unknown. 



Early specimens of the family came to European naturalists from 

 Surinam where in the Dutch of that day they were called "Man- 

 neken," meaning male birds. From this Brisson proposed for these 

 early specimens the genus Manacus which remains the name for a 

 group of the better known kinds. 



Schiffornis turdinus, with its anatomy understood only in part, is 



