Manakins

Male manakins are most popularly known for the “moonwalk” dance in order to attract potential female partners. The behaviors and actions of male manakins play a crucial role in attracting a female manakins. The red capped manakins have a unique and amusing type of dance. It mainly consists of movement and sounds which include: fast movement up and down the branch (“moonwalk”), snapping his wings to make noise, shooting between his perch and his surroundings, flying in circles around then swooping, and also spinning to reveal their bright yellow legs. By utilizing this behavior, they attract potential mating partners, and their variations in the mating dance is what attracts females. These variations can be observed and recorded, and then behavioral flow charts can be constructed in order to better understand what specific variations causes female attraction, as well as what causes attention retention in females.