The Crimson-hooded Manakin (Pipra aureola) is a stunning bird known for its vibrant crimson-red plumage on the head and breast, with a black body and wings. Males are particularly striking and participate in elaborate group dances on low branches within the forest understory. These birds are found in humid areas like swamps and seasonally flooded forests in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. The manakins are known for the males' dramatic and elaborate group "dances" on low branches in the forest's understory. Their brilliant plumage flashes in the shadowy light whilst they sidle sideways along a branch -- a movement that may have inspired the late Michael Jackson's famous "moonwalk". A dominant male will dance in the company of several subordinate males in a lek.
