Velvety manakin

{{Short description|Species of bird}}

{{Speciesbox

| image =

| status =

| status_system =

| genus = Lepidothrix

| species = velutina

| authority = (Berlepsch, 1883)

| synonyms =

| range_map = Lepidothrix velutina map.svg

}}

The velvety manakin (Lepidothrix velutina) is a species of bird in the family Pipridae. It is found from Costa Rica to Ecuador.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=August 2022 | title=Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/cotingas/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=27 August 2022 }} Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

The velvety manakin was formerly considered to be conspecific with Lepidothrix coronata and together they were known under the common name "blue-crowned manakin". A study published in 2022 found that there were significant vocal and phylogenetic differences between the west of Andes taxa and those from the east of the Andes.{{Cite journal | last1=Moncrieff | first1=A.E. | last2=Faircloth | first2=B.C. | last3=Brumfield | first3=R.T. | date=2022 | title=Systematics of Lepidothrix manakins (Aves: Passeriformes: Pipridae) using RADcap markers | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=173 | issue=107525 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107525| doi-access=free }} The velvety manakin was therefore promoted to species status and the "blue-crowned manakin" renamed to the blue-capped manakin.{{ cite web | last=Moncrieff | first=Andre E. | date=June 2022 | title=Proposal 943: Recognize Lepidothrix velutina as a separate species from Lepidothrix coronata | publisher=South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union | url=https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop943.htm | access-date=27 August 2022 }}