Lance-Tailed Manakin Cam Leaps Into 2022

The Lance-tailed Manakins are back! Take a virtual vacation to Isla Boca Brava, Panama, where an alpha-beta pair of males are showcasing their gorgeous blue-and-red plumage with their cooperative dancing. Throughout the spring, we’ll watch them leap and bound at their display perch in an attempt to woo onlooking females to mate with the alpha. Watch now.

This season, we’re back with some familiar faces at a new display perch. In 2022, alpha WWmY (banded white-white on left leg; metal over yellow on right leg) and beta YWmF (banded yellow-over-white on left, metal-over-pink (“fluorescent”) on right) are back for more action in front of the camera.

Even though alpha-beta pairs display together, only the alpha males get to mate with females. That may make beta males seem like the ultimate wingmen, but in many cases it leads to a long-term payoff. Lance-tailed Manakin researchers have found that males who serve as betas have an increased chance of making it to alpha status in the future.

Keep up with the action at the perch by following the cam on Twitter @ManakinCam.