Social Organization of the Band-Tailed Manakin (Pipra fasciicauda)

Abstract

I studied the social organization of the Band-tailed Manakin (Pipru fasciicaudu) for 6.5 months in 1980 in undisturbed, lowland rain forest of southeastern Peru. Dominant males maintained closely-packed territories at localized sites in seasonally flooded forest. Within each territory, an alpha male, usually a beta male, and occasionally one or more non-territorial adult males performed complex, coordinated displays for attracting and exciting females. Alpha males were extremely sedentary, spending almost the entire day on territory. Beta males were less sedentary and visited with other alpha males at the lek. Alpha males encouraged all visiting conspecifics, except contiguous territorial owners, to join them in display. Territorial males showed no interspecific territoriality, except toward other lekking piprids. Once a female was attracted to a territory, only the alpha male actively courted her, while the subordinate male(s) observed from the adjacent vegetation. All disruptions of an alpha male courting a female were by subordinates associated with the territory. Beta males occupied the dominant position in both instances where there was a change in territorial ownership. Two types of acquisition of the alpha position were involved: (1) an alpha male was displaced by the beta male; and, (2) a beta male inherited ownership when the alpha male disappeared.