Fig 1 : Flores Minivet - male
Fig 2 : Grey-chinned Minivet - female and male
Fig 3 : Grey-chinned Minivet - male
Fig 4 : Grey-chinned Minivet - female
Fig 5 : Scarlet Minivet - female
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Minivets comprise the genus Pericrocotus in
the family Campephagidae.
They are small, slender birds with a relatively
long tail. Colouration in the majority of species comprises various
attractive arrangements of black and pale grey contrasting with
reddish-orange in males, and yellow in females. A minority of species are
various shades of grey with black. Their bills are relatively short and
blunt.
They build small, somewhat exposed, cup-like nests on top of slender tree
branches.
These are insectivorous birds which tend to forage in the tree canopy, and
appear constantly on the move. They may join 'bird waves', mixing with birds
of other species in a feeding frenzy.
There are 13 species of Minivet, 12 of which occur in
Southeast Asia, the other species being endemic to Japan.
Fig 1 :
Flores Minivet (Little Minivet) - male
Pericrocotus lansbergei
Location : Flores, Indonesia
Habitat : Mixed lowland forest and agricultural area.
Fig 2 :
Grey-chinned Minivet - female and male pair
Pericrocotus solaris
Location : Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lower montane, primary rainforest
Fig 3 :
Grey-chinned Minivet - male in flight
Pericrocotus solaris
Location : Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lower montane, primary rainforest
Fig 4 :
Grey-chinned Minivet - female
Pericrocotus solaris
Location : Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lower montane, primary rainforest
Fig 5 :
Scarlet Minivet - female
Pericrocotus speciosus
Location : Gunung Arong, Johor,
Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lowland secondary forest / freshwater swampforest.
Fig 6 :
Swinhoe's Minivet (Brown-rumped Minivet) -
male
Pericrocotus cantonensis
Location : Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Habitat : Lowland forest
Note : Photo by Charles Currin
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