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

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Campephagidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The species was previously thought to be a subspecies of the

ashy minivet The ashy minivet (''Pericrocotus divaricatus'') is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the minivet genus ''Pericrocotus'' in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. While most of the minivets have shades of yellow, orange and red in their ...

. Its specific name is named for the Japanese naturalist

Seiichi Tegima Seiichi (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese cult member *, Japanese politician *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese philosopher *, Japanese art di ...

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 Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, but in the 1970s it spread to southern

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

and as of 2010 was found throughout that island and into

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

and western

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

. It has been suggested that the species was able to spread due to declines in the related ashy minivet. 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