Scientific name:
Pipridae

Natural spread:
South America

to the showiest birds of the tropical and subtropical forests of the southern America counts the Schnurrvögel or Manakins (niederl).: "Males." Both names go back to farther below portrayed behaviors, that this family of the scream-birds marks particularly. they are compared gladly with titmice, not only because of its height (8,5-19 cm of length). Rather, its way of life is responsible for it.

Way of life The Schnurrvögel are lively and active birds, who wander through the forests in small or bigger groups after berries and insects. they form also companies with other insectivorous birds; so, they are to be found in swarms of ant-birds and Tangaren occasionally, that follow the trains of the traveling-ants. Here, the startled insects, who look for protection on the trees, suit them exactly well. Otherwise they jump busily on the search of feed from branch to branch and rarely fly across bigger routes. Carefully, they avoid open places, that don't offer any sufficient coverage.

Be Even if the voice-appliance is developed little, the tone-remarks of the Schnurrvögel are quite impressive. Often, however, one must know it exactly in order to associate it at all with a bird. So, loud sounds are to be heard, that sound like the loud cracking of a splintering branch or the rattle of a flag in the wind. If however, the males lure a female into its precinct, chirps so and whistles it quiet attention getting-sounds, that can change to melodious stanzas with some types. However, the name Schnurrvogel goes back to the "instrumental music", that is generated perform courtship display with it with reorganized feathers.

Shape With most types (altogether approximately 60), the sexes differ in its plumage-coloring. Particularly at the head, the males distinguish themselves through shining colored plumage-parts, that stand in strong contrast by the greenish-brown or together with-black body-plumage; sincerely colored thighs, that are put perform courtship display with it to the show, have others. The olive females are quite inconspicuous on the other hand. As well, the sexes can also completely immediately have colored, Z. B. Drosselmanakin, Schiffornis turdinus; with 19 cm of length the biggest type, or alone in the coloring of the waiter-head deviates. The short tail, the short wings and the dainty legs are typical of the body-shape of the Schnurrvögel. The beak quite wide at the reason runs out pointed the waiter-beak towers above the sub-beak something with what.

Reproduction At least with the types, that show a distinctive Geschlechtsdimorphismus, the sex-partners meet only in the Balzzeit. Through the distinctive Balzverhalten (Pipras), the polygamous males lure the females. However, a solid pair-relationship doesn't occur so that the females are mated with in a season of different males. The Balzplätze can lie far apart, with other types, groups of 20 or more males perform courtship display together. The Gruppenbalz is to frequently be observed also outside the combination-time incidentally.

As with all bird-types without solid pair-relationship, it is alone task of the female to take care of the nest-construction and the Aufzucht of the boys. The nest is a very thin-walled little basket, that often from grass, plant-fibers and animal-hairs in the fork of a horizontal branch, high over the ground, is built.