SHARP-TAILED MANAKIN 



Male. Velvety black, a flattened crest of 

 stiff, narrow, elongated, bright crimson feathers 

 covering crown to middle of forehead, the 

 back and shoulders grayish azure blue, the 

 rump tinged with olive slate. Legs and feet 

 orange. Middle tail feathers noticeably longer 

 than the others and pointed. 



Female. Above olive green, crown with red 

 feathers, rarely a patch; under parts paler. 

 Feet and legs as in male. 



Young male Similar to female, red on head 

 as in adult male. 



Velvety black, with their red caps and blue 

 mantles, these manakins are rarely beautiful. 

 They are of less active and nervous temperament 

 than the Gould's and Yellow-thighed Manakins, 

 and frequent dry thickets and low jungle, usually 

 in twos or in small groups. They are abundant 

 near the Pacific Coast of the Isthmus, for 

 instance in the woods and low jungle on the 

 Panama City side of the Juan Franco race 

 track and around Patillo Point. During the 

 spring and summer months, I have seen them 

 there many times and heard them calling con- 

 tinuously to each other with liquid whistling 

 notes of two or three syllables; a questioning 

 call of two notes followed by an answering one of 

 three, having a tone faintly suggesting that of 

 the bluebird of the Eastern United States, 

 varied with tremulos and an occasional catlike 

 call. 



335 



