Wire-tailed Manakin

Identification

The wire-tailed manakin is a small passerine, 11–12 cm long (excluding tail filaments), weighing around 14 g. The species is strikingly sexually dimorphic. Males of the nominate subspecies are unmistakable: they display a bright yellow forecrown, face, and throat, contrasting sharply with a brilliant red crown, nape, and neck sides. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are jet black, while the underparts are entirely yellow. Females are far more subdued, with dull olive-green upperparts and a mostly grayish underside tinged yellow on the face and breast. Both sexes have a blackish bill and reddish legs. The distinctive tail filaments—approximately 4 cm in males and 2.5 cm in females—are a key field mark. Males possess a white or whitish iris, while females show pale gray to whitish irides; immatures are duller overall with brown eyes.