About Lepidothrix coronata (Spix, 1825)
Blue-capped manakins (scientific name Lepidothrix coronata (Spix, 1825)) display sexual dimorphism in both weight and wing chord length. On average, females are heavier than males: females have an average weight of 9.8 g, ranging from 8.5 g to 11.5 g, while males have an average weight of 8.5 g, ranging from 7.5 g to 9.5 g. For wing chord length, males average 60.45 mm, with a range of 58 mm to 63 mm, and females average 58.76 mm, with a range of 55 mm to 62 mm. Males are sooty black with a bright blue crown, while females are green. Juvenile plumage matches female plumage, but is duller in color. The first prebasic molt is partial, and occurs within 2 months of juveniles leaving the nest. The second prebasic molt is complete, and takes place either at the end of the first breeding season or one year after the first prebasic molt; after this complete molt, the species loses its molt limits, and males begin to develop signs of male plumage. The third prebasic molt occurs at the end of the third year, after which males develop full adult male plumage. Blue-capped manakins inhabit the understory of terra firme forests in South America. They are frugivores, and their diet includes fruit from the plant families Melastomataceae, Moraceae, Bromeliaceae, and Araceae. When feeding in mixed-species flocks, blue-capped manakins typically associate with cinereus antshrikes, dusty-throated antshrikes, and white-flanked stipplethroats, Yasuni stipplethroats, long-winged stipplethroats, gray stipplethroats, and rufous-tailed stipplethroats. Mixed flocks usually contain only one or two blue-capped manakins. When two blue-capped manakins are present in the same flock, they forage independently of one another. Blue-capped manakins never act aggressively toward other bird species in mixed flocks. Both males and females join mixed-species foraging flocks, but on average, females spend more time in these flocks than males. Blue-capped manakins forage in the understory between 2 and 7 meters in height. When in mixed flocks, their preferred prey is arthropods, including ants, flies, and other small insects. To catch arthropods, they most often use a sally-strike or sally-glean hunting technique off of live foliage. Since blue-capped manakins normally have a frugivorous diet, it has been speculated that they join mixed flocks to take advantage of insects that are flushed out and scattered by the flock's movement.
