Social reciprocity can promote the evolution of cooperation and long-term social bonds. However, the causes and consequences of partner reciprocation within a social network are not well understood. We studied social reciprocity in the wire-tailed manakin (Pipra filicauda), a bird species in which the males establish partnerships and perform coordinated displays on lek territories. When two territory holders interact, the visiting bird forgoes potential mating opportunities by leaving his own territory. These directed social network interactions present an opportunity to test whether social reciprocation occurs, and whether it is associated with partnership strength and stability in the broader social network. We used automated telemetry to track social behavior over three years in a large population, observing far more reciprocated partnerships than expected in a null model of territory visitation. The reciprocated partnerships were stronger (i.e., partners interacted more frequently) than non-reciprocated partnerships independent of spatial proximity. Using an individual-level analysis, we show that a male’s donation to a given partner was also positively correlated with the number of social interactions he received from that partner, controlling for other factors. Finally, we show that reciprocated partnerships retained greater strength than one-directional partnerships a year later. These results suggest that reciprocity can act as a pathway to stability in cooperative social partnerships, and by extension, the broader social network.