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

ABSTRACTNeotropical manakins(Pipridae) are well known for the male’s multimodal courtship displaysincluding 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 repertoireof Swallow-tailed Manakins( Chiroxiphia caudata), a bird species well known for displaying cooperatively, but for which the acoustic repertoirehas not been well-documented. We recorded calls and behaviour of Swallow-tailed Manakinson three display courts in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. We classified calls to test our repertoiredesignations using linear discriminant analysisand 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 spec...