Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

White-collared Manakin (Manacus candei)
Photo: Patrick Jackson, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist
White-collared Manakin

Family Pipridae

White-collared Manakin

Manacus candei

In Spanish: Saltarín Cuelliblanco (Quiebrapalos, Quiebraramas, Bailarín)

  • Resident

Tiny Caribbean-slope dancer with a white collar and loud wing snaps.

The White-collared Manakin (Saltarín Cuelliblanco, Manacus candei) is a small bird, about 10 to 11 cm long, and the male puts on a show. He slides down thin saplings with snaps, buzzes and a sharp whistle.

In Costa Rica it is a bird of the Caribbean slope, described as one of the most common manakins in the country. On a trip we build, Tortuguero, Sarapiquí and the Caribbean lowlands are where guests meet it.

How to find it

Listen for the wing snaps and rattles of males, then look low in the understory at thickets and forest edges. Males display at a cleared patch with vertical stems, so you can often watch from a distance. Expect it to zip around and rarely sit still.

How to recognise it

The male is easy to learn: black crown, back band, wings and tail, an olive-green rump and a yellow belly. The white collar and throat are puffed out when he displays. Both sexes have bright red or orange legs, which helps with the female too. She is greenish with a yellow belly and orange legs, quiet and well blended into the foliage, so she is hard to spot even while the male performs nearby. At 10 to 11 cm the species is small, and it is always on the move.

What it sounds like

0:07

Recording: Amber M. King, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

In courtship the male slides quickly down thin saplings with snaps, buzzes and a sharp whistle. He displays on the forest floor, in a patch he partly clears, leaping between thin upright sticks. When a female is present, males jump together and cross over each other. Away from display areas it is usually alone or in pairs, sitting quietly or feeding at fruiting trees and bushes.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives in humid forest edge, second growth thickets, especially with Heliconia, and in old cacao plantations. It is found in the lowlands and foothills of the Caribbean slope, from sea level up to about 700 m. In some areas dozens may call from the same second growth patch.

Similar birds

The Orange-collared Manakin is the close lookalike, and females and young birds of the two look alike. It takes over on the southern Pacific side of Costa Rica, so location is the easiest way to tell them apart.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The AOCR name is Saltarín Cuelliblanco. Local nicknames in Costa Rica are Quiebrapalos, Quiebraramas and Bailarín.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), and it is Least Concern on the IUCN list and described as one of the most common manakins in Costa Rica.

Photography tips

A Sarapiquí photo of a male was taken with a 300 mm lens at f/4, 1/80 s and ISO 640, so a long lens helps in dim understory light. A clean, sharp wing snap points to a mature male, since young males are less crisp.

How we know this 16 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Avibase (from Wikipedia) read 2026-11-04https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=9DF85999BC64040B
  2. Proyecto Rescate de Fauna (PRFRP) read 2026-11-04https://www.prfrp.org/our-work/species-pages/birds-index/white-collared-manakin/
  3. Birds & Breakfast Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://birdsandbreakfast.com/en/white-collared-manakin/
  4. Vitrealis blog read 2026-11-04https://vitrealis.blogspot.com/2024/12/top-ten-birds-of-costa-rica-4-white.html
  5. Lifer Tours read 2026-11-04https://www.lifertours.com/single-post/manakins-costa-rica-bird-photography-at-its-best
  6. Wikipedia (es) read 2026-11-04https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manacus_candei
  7. Birds for Beer read 2026-11-04https://birdsforbeer.com/2013/05/23/white-collared-manakin/
  8. EcoRegistros read 2026-11-04https://www.ecoregistros.org/ficha/Manacus-candei
  9. Alamy photo caption read 2026-11-04https://www.alamy.com/white-collared-manakin-manacus-candei-displaying-at-lek-la-selva-costa-rica-image263189945.html
  10. Birda read 2026-11-04https://app.birda.org/species-guide/18181/White-collared_Manakin
  11. Aves Costa Rica (avesibericas.es) read 2026-11-04https://www.avesibericas.es/costaricaaves7.htm
  12. JungleDragon (from Wikipedia) read 2026-11-04https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/19376/white-collared_manakin.html
  13. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-collared_Manakin
  14. Macaulay Library read 2026-11-04https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/547209991
  15. Museo Nacional de Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://www.museocostarica.go.cr/nuestro-trabajo/investigaciones/historia-natural/saltarines-de-costa-rica/
  16. Animalia.bio read 2026-11-04https://animalia.bio/white-collared-manakin?taxonomy=3044