Acoustic signals and repertoire complexity in Swallow-tailed Manakins (Chiroxiphia caudata, Aves: Pipridae)

Neotropical manakins (Pipridae) are well known for the male’s multimodal courtship displays including acoustic and visual signals. In these birds, acoustic signals are important for attracting females to display arenas, often located at hidden perches within the forest. Here, we describe the acoustic repertoire of Swallow-tailed Manakins (Chiroxiphia caudata), a bird species well known for displaying cooperatively, but for which the acoustic repertoire has not been well-documented. We recorded calls and behaviour of Swallow-tailed Manakins on three display courts in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. We classified calls to test our repertoire designations using linear discriminant analysis and asked how different sounds mapped onto components of the cooperative display. Prior to the display, males coordinate sounds either in duets, as has been shown in congeners, or in choruses, which we report for the first time in Chiroxiphia. Males also produce three mechanical sounds, so far undescribed in this species, and 11 calls associated with seven behaviours. Particularly prominent was the wah call produced while displaying, which becomes increasingly fast toward the jump display’s end, possibly to stimulate females for copulation. Our study of the Swallow-tailed Manakin acoustic repertoire provides insights into specific signal categories females may assess as they attend male mating displays.