They are compact stubby birds with short tails, broad and rounded wings, and big heads.

Females and first-year males have dull green plumage; most species are sexually dichromatic in their plumage,[2] the males being mostly black with striking colours in patches,[3] and in some species having long, decorative tail or crown feathers or erectile throat feathers.

Furthermore, it is so acutely variable within the group that genera and even species may be identified by the syrinx alone, unlike birds of most oscine families.

[2] Many manakin species have spectacular lekking courtship rituals, which are especially elaborate in the genera Pipra and Chiroxiphia.

[6] The members of the genera Machaeropterus and Manacus have heavily modified wing feathers, which they use to make buzzing and snapping sounds.

[7] The ability to produce these wing movements is supported by specialized peripheral androgen receptors in the muscular tissue.

[2] Lekking polygyny seems to have been a characteristic of the family's original ancestor, and the associated sexual selection led to an adaptive radiation in which relationships may be traced by similarities in displays.