Golden-headed Manakin (Ceratopipra erythrocephala) — Vorstman's Guide to the Birds of the Andes and West Coast

Voice

A high, buzzy call, roughly zeeet, and a rapid series of rising and falling notes ending in sharp ticks, roughly pu-ruu-ree-ree-tik-tik. During display also snapping wing sounds.

Listen: SongXC1181641

Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto

Identification

9 cm, with a short tail. The male is glossy black with a golden-yellow head; the thighs are red and white. The iris is whitish, the bill pale. The female is olive green, slightly paler below, with a pale bill. Young males are green, with the first yellow feathers on the head.

Confusion species

Red-headed Manakin Ceratopipra rubrocapilla has a red head and lives south of the Amazon and the Marañón. Red-capped Manakin Ceratopipra mentalis has a red head and yellow thighs and lives west of the Andes. Round-tailed Manakin Ceratopipra chloromeros is larger, with a red head, yellow thighs and a longer, rounded tail, and lives in central and southern Peru. Females of these species are very similar; location and a male nearby help.

Habitat

The midstorey of humid lowland terra firme forest, mature second growth and forest edges, also flooded forest, to roughly 1000 m, locally higher. It feeds mainly on small fruits and insects. Males display in groups of a few birds on branches a few metres above the ground. The nest is a small cup in a fork.

Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.

Range and movements

In Colombia in the north, in the Magdalena valley and in the lowlands east of the Andes. In Ecuador in the eastern lowlands and foothills. In Peru in the north, north of the Amazon and the Marañón. Absent from Bolivia and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in eastern Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas and northern Amazonian Brazil.

Resident
dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Density map from the occurrence records of GBIF (2006-10-01 – 2026-09-30), counted per 1.41° grid cell and per month and divided by all bird records in that same cell — so the number of birdwatchers does not shape the picture. Colour depth follows that share and fades out gradually, so the map does not follow national borders. Country outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).

How and when to look

Listen in the midstorey of lowland forest for buzzy calls and snapping sounds; display sites are often used for years in succession. Females can also be seen at trees and shrubs with ripe fruit.

Conservation status

Least Concern. The range is large and the species tolerates second growth.

Scientific name

Ceratopipra erythrocephala | (Linnaeus, 1758) (GBIF: Pipra erythrocephala)

Linnaeus described the species in 1758 as [Parus] erythrocephalus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Ceratopipra was introduced in 1854 by Bonaparte. The genus name combines Greek keras, 'horn', with the genus name Pipra (manakins), after the horn-like head feathers of the type species. The species name comes from Greek eruthros, 'red', and kephalē, 'head', despite the male's golden-yellow head. The specimen the first description was based on came from Suriname.