They have black and dark-green wings, with a signature pin shape tail that has a small fork near the tip, helping to give it its common name in English.

Both male and female birds of this species share a slightly elongated head shape that gives them a distinguished raised forehead.

The pin-tailed manakin has an elaborate courtship ritual called lekking, and is suspected to breed sometime between November and February.

[3] The first part of its scientific name, Ilicura militaris, stems from the root “ilex” or “ilicis”, referring to the botanical species (Ilex aquifolium) of which the tail feathers’ pointed central veins resemble the thorns of the leaves, and the Greek root “oura” meaning tail.

[7] All pin-tailed manakins share some common traits: a forking tail at the very end of their rectrices, a slightly elongated forehead, brownish black legs, and bright yellow-orange irises.

[8] Adult male pin-tailed manakins have a slightly longer tail, with a very uniquely pigmented red fore-crown and rump, black wings with green secondaries, and a white chest that extends from their under-tail coverts all the way to their auriculars.

[6] Food is plucked from the air in diving and snatching motions—they do not typically spend time on the plant picking berries to eat.

[12] It is believed that the pin-tailed manakin is a solitary species, especially during the breeding season, in which the males create special arenas to display for females.

[13] Once a female is in the area, the male will draw her to his mating perch and jump back and forth over her, sometimes making a snapping noise in the air, and fluffing out the vibrant red rump with his chin down when he lands facing her.

[12] According to the IUCN, the pin-tailed manakin is rated as Least Concern with an unknown quantity of individuals, suspected to be in decline from habitat destruction, but needs more research conducted to provide an accurate conservational account.

[14] Rhodoxanthin is unique because it can produce a wide range of reds and yellows due to its ability to reflect and absorb light from longer wavelengths—which most other pigments are incapable of.

[15] One mutant has been found of the pin-tailed manakin species in which the normally red fore-crown and rump were replaced with an orange and yellow color.