Chiroxiphia linearis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The long-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia linearis) is a species of bird in the family Pipridae native to Central America where it inhabits both wet and dry tropical and subtropical forests. It is a small, plump bird about 10 centimetres (4 in) long. Males have black plumage with a blue back and a red crown, and the two central tail feathers are greatly elongated. Females and juveniles are olive-green with paler underparts. At breeding time, males are involved in a cooperative lekking behaviour with a complex coordinated courtship dance. This is a fairly common species with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Large for a manakin, the long-tailed measures about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 18 g (0.63 oz). The male is mostly a rich black. This is contrasted by a bright red crown and legs. The back is bright blue. The two central tail feathers are narrow and greatly elongated. The female is olive green, paler below and on the chin and throat. Some females have a small amount of red in the crown.
It closely resembles the lance-tailed manakin (C. lanceolata), the blue-backed manakin... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 12 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Manakin sighting in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve on a given day, based on 396 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and April
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Manakin in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in May, July–August and November, the lowest months. Those are among Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve's driest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 560 mm in October.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-tailed Manakin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Long-tailed Manakin sightings, Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%) and Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Manakin that you can see in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Great Kiskadee (about 60%), Rufous-backed Wren (about 50%) and White-Throated Magpie-Jay (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-tailed Manakin is recorded against all the birds logged in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve (396 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
