Hormonal correlates of social status and courtship display in the cooperatively lekking lance-tailed manakin

►Beta male lance-tailed manakins cooperate in complex courtship displays with dominant alpha partners, but betas have testosterone levels indistinguishable from non-displaying males. ►Testosterone decreased throughout the breeding season for male lance-tailed manakins while courtship levels remained high. ►Recent performance of courtship display was associated with decreased testosterone levels among alpha males.