About Ilicura militaris (Shaw, 1809)
This species, Ilicura militaris, commonly called the pin-tailed manakin, shows clear sexual size dimorphism in mature adults. At full maturity, males measure 12.5 cm (4.9 in) from beak to tail, while females measure 11 cm (4.3 in) from beak to tail. It is often impossible to confirm the sex of individuals that do not have adult male coloration, because both juvenile males and females have similar appearance. All pin-tailed manakins share a set of common traits: a forked tail at the end of their rectrices, a slightly elongated forehead, brownish black legs, and bright yellow-orange irises. Adult males have a slightly longer tail, a distinctively pigmented red fore-crown and rump, black wings with green secondaries, and a white chest that extends from under-tail coverts all the way to the auriculars. Females are olive-green across most of their body, with the exception of a grey neck and auriculars, and a crème-colored chest that extends to their under-tail coverts. The pin-tailed manakin is endemic to Brazil, where it inhabits the Atlantic Forest from the State of Bahia to the State of Rio Grande Do Sul. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is not commonly seen within its range, and spends most of its time in the lower and middle strata of rainforests. It builds cup-shaped nests, and each clutch contains 2 to 3 eggs. The species' distribution has not been thoroughly studied, so there is no clear understanding of the full extent of its population range. Three specimens held by the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro were collected in Nova Veneza, a location that is further inland and further north than the species' previously recorded range. This find provides evidence that the pin-tailed manakin's range may be larger than previously documented.
