Blue-backed Manakin (Chiroxiphia pareola)

Identification & Behavior:~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The male Blue-backed Manakin is black with a sky blue mantle and ruby red (napensis) or golden (regina) crown. The female is green above and grayish-green below. Both sexes have reddish legs. It forages in the mid and understory of Terra Firme forest. It is similar to the Yungas Manakin and probably difficult to distinguish in the field but the Blue-backed Manakin ranges at lower elevations and their ranges are not known to overlap.

Status: The Blue-backed Manakin is uncommon and widespread in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 700 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Saltarín de Dorso Azul.

Sub-species: Blue-backed Manakin (Chiroxiphia pareola napensis) W. de W. Miller, 1908.  S & SE Colombia (E of Andes), E Ecuador and N Peru (mainly N of R Marañón).
(Chiroxiphia pareola regina) P. L. Sclater, 1856.  E Peru (S of R Marañón), W Brazil mostly S of Amazon (E to lower R Tapajós, also recorded N of Amazon at two sites W of R Negro) and extreme N Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Chiroxiphia: Gr. kheir, kheiros= hand and xiphos= sword. pareola: L. pareola modification; a small version of a member of the genus Parus.

See more of the Family Pipridae