MANAKIN (OF. manequin, Fr. mannequin, from Match manneken, diminutive of man, man). The name manakin (or 'manikin') is ap plied to a large group of small tropical Ameri can birds difficult to define. In its narrowest sense the term is confined to the few species of the genus Manacus, which are birds with com paratively dull-colored plumage, but having the feathers of the chin elongated and puffed like a beard. In a broader way the term applies to the whole family Pipridte, while by some writers it is extended to some of the Cotingidte, a closely allied family. (A representative form of Pipra is illustrated on the Plate of COTINOAS, ETC.) In such senses, manakins are small. usually bright ly colored birds with short, square -tails, and a short, vaulted, broad bill, the upper mandible hooked at the tip and with a notch behind the point. In some species the wings and tail are modified so as to become very ornamental, and these changes are sometimes extraordinary. The sexes are very different in color, the females generally being greenish, while the males are usually glossy black, ornamented with brilliant scarlet. yellow, or blue. In the genus Hetero
pelma, however, both sexes are dull-colored, while in Machteropterus the general color is bright green with a fiery red crown, and the lower sur face streaked, brown and white. The latter genus is further remarkable for the peculiar thickening of the tips of the shafts of some of the inner wing feathers, so that they appear as if ending in a pointed claw. In habits the manakins re semble tits and chickadees, hopping about in the lower undergrowth and feeding chiefly on in sects. They are not song birds, however, but are more nearly related to the North American flycatchers. They are often seen on the ground, and some species nest there. A Brazilian species (Chiroxiphia eaudata) is known as `dansador' on account of a peculiar habit when several are together of holding small dancing parties; one individual whistles steadily while the others dance on the twigs around him, until the musi cian tires, when he exchanges places with one of the dancers.