What is Manakin Dance?

Some birds have exciting courtship and mating rituals. The manakin is no exception. This type of bird is small and belongs to the fowl family Pipridae. The name comes from the Dutch word “mannekijn,” which means “little man.” The bird is not a little man but it is little with size ranging between three to six inches. On average, the bird weighs between eight to 30 grams. 

The manakin has colorful and distinctive plumage. Each has a black base with colorful patches. Different colors are depending on the species. The more popular species have blue feathers and red caps. 

The courtship

Male manakins indulge in lekking, which is when the male species gather and be competitive with each other to attract the females. Leks happened during the breeding season. This activity is prominent among birds, but they also happen to some other animals. 

Manakins, though, have been noted to have a very exciting courtship, hence, the term manakin dance was coined. The manakin dance is a full performance. The males dance and they sing, too. These displays, complemented with the colorful plumage of the birds, are a sight to behold. Male birds certainly know how to go crazy with their courtship rituals. 

The dance includes a lot of wing movements complete with swishing sounds, and feathers brushing through the bodies. Pops can also be heard when the wings are clapped together. Some species also do the moonwalk. The stage? A prominent branch without foliage. Manakins carefully choose their platform where they can maximize visibility to impress a female manakin. 

For those interested in seeing the manakin dance, the birds are usually found in parts of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. They live in forests and woodlands.

The company with an advocacy

A company created to help push environmental causes to take its name from the interesting mating ritual of the manakins. Manakin Dance aims to bring the public’s attention to three causes related to environmental protection: climate change, animal trafficking, and habitat destruction. Climate change is a growing problem but some world leaders are not even convinced that it’s a real thing. This is why private organizations, as well as Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, have to make loud chatter about climate change for the world to listen to.

Animal trafficking for consumption and habitat destruction have also been linked to emerging infectious diseases. The advocates of Manakin Dance are very timely as the world is trying to fight the proliferation of coronavirus around the world. The viral infection was traced back to a market in Wuhan, China where wild animals were being slaughtered for human consumption. They were wolves, snakes, civets, and bamboo rats. 

Manakin Dance aims to bring the public’s attention to their causes through the products they sell. Ten percent of the profit goes to the World Wildlife Fund to help fight the above-mentioned environmental issues.

The products

Manakin Dance sells T-shirts with statements that bring awareness to environmental issues. Some shirts say: “I can make a difference” in the fight against climate change. There are tees for men, women, and children. There is also a line of hoodies with the statement: “I choose you.” The message is a promise to the earth. By choosing Mother Earth, a person chooses to be more responsible with the environment by lowering their carbon footprint in any way they can. Some T-shirts aim to bring attention to some vulnerable animals, which are losing their habitat from deforestation.