The Story
I photographed this White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus) at the Reserva Natural El Danubio, near Morelia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. Adult males have a black crown, back, wings and tail and are otherwise white, while females and young males are olive-green with orange legs. It lives in forest, second growth and plantations, eating fruit, insects and spiders. Up to 70 birds can display together at one lek. Two-thirds of its South American range lies in the Amazon and Orinoco basins and the Guianas. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400. El Danubio lies on the Eastern Andes in the Bodoquero River basin, with three trails, and visitors can watch birds from the El Milagro lookout or hike to the Moo Buinaima waterfall, about 20 meters high.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus) belongs to the family Pipridae (Manakins) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
