Club-winged Manakin Machaeropterus deliciosus Scientific name definitions

The Club-winged Manakin is one of the more unique, and colorful manakins in South America. It is restricted to the Pacific slope of the Andes in western Colombia and western Ecuador. It is apparently closely related to the other members of the genus Machaeropterus, the Striped Manakin (Machaeropterus regulus) and the Fiery-capped Manakin (Machaeropterus pyrocephalus), although quite different in both plumage and display behavior from either. Club-winged is only one of the three found on the Pacific slope. Unlike either Striped or Fiery-capped, the male Club-winged Manakin has no streaking on the underparts, but is entirely dark maroon red with a scarlet red crown, black wings, modified, white-edged secondaries, and white underwing coverts. Females rather distinct for a female manakin, with mostly green plumage, but rufuous in the malar region, and white on the inner secondaries and underwing coverts. Also unlike the other members of the genus, Club-winged has an elaborate display by first flattening its wings, and then snapping them into an upright position with the tips almost touching. This wing movement coincides with a “mechanical” buzzy note. This display is very different from the bell-like call of Fiery-capped, or the two-note call of Striped, neither of which are associated with a wing display. Club-winged Manakin is mainly found in the mid-story of foothill forest.