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Over time I've gotten a little better at tracking manakins; I found the displaying male pictured below on Achiote Road, in Colón Province, Panamá,
in January of 2007. Male manakins perform mating displays in open areas within the forest called leks, engaging in an assortment of acrobatic dance moves while
females in search of a mate look on. In this case I likely stumbled across a lek, and managed to creep close enough to this male to catch a few seconds of his act. His throat feathers
are fully extended in show, and in the bottom frame he is creating a snapping sound with his wings, which are specially designed to create a sort of popcorn-like effect. The movement is obviously
far too rapid for me to catch perfectly with my modest video camera!
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