The Ryukyu minivet (''Pericrocotus tegimae'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Campephagidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The species was previously thought to be a subspecies of the ashy minivet. Its specific name is named for the Japanese naturalist Seiichi Tegima.

Distribution and habitat

The Ryukyu minivet was originally

to the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

, but in the 1970s it spread to southern

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

and as of 2010 was found throughout that island and into

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

and western

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. It has been suggested that the species was able to spread due to declines in the related ashy minivet. Also found on the island of Jeju (South Korea) in 2024. The species' natural habitat is evergreen and mixed deciduous forests. It will also use human-modified habitats, including cedar plantations and gardens. It ranges from sea-level to .

References

Pericrocotus Endemic birds of Japan Birds of the Ryukyu Islands Birds described in 1887 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Campephagidae-stub