This species consumes both plant and animal materials as part of their diet. Approximately 80% of their diet comes from the plant Clidemia biserrata. Araripe Manakins consume fruit and arthropods, although fruits are the primary item in their diet. Females have a more diverse diet than males, because the more cryptic olive-green plumage of females provides them with a greater degree of camouflage in forests, allowing them to find food with less predation, meanwhile, males are a very bright white color, which makes them more vulnerable to predation. Females also have a longer bill, which allows them to manipulate more types of fruit than males are able to handle and digest