The small minivet (''Pericrocotus cinnamomeus'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird. This

minivet The minivets are passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Pericrocotus'' in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. There are about 15 species, occurring mainly in forests in southern and eastern Asia. They are fairly small, slender birds with lon ...

is found in tropical southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

from the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n subcontinent east to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Description

The small minivet is 16 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male differs from most other common minivets by having grey, not glossy black, upperparts and head, and orange underparts, fading to yellow on the belly, orange tail edges, rump and wing patches. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches. There is much racial variation. The male ''P. c. pallidus'' of the northwest Indian subcontinent is pale grey above, with the underparts whitish except on the throat and flanks, whereas the male ''P. c. malabaricus'' of peninsular and southern India is darker above, has more extensive scarlet below. The female of the southern race is also brighter yellow below.

Behaviour

The small minivet is a widespread and common resident breeding bird in thorn jungle and scrub. The nest is a cup-like structure into which two to four spotted eggs are laid and incubated by the female. This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. The small minivet will form small flocks. Its call is a high, thin ''swee swee swee''.

Gallery

File:Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) near Hyderabad W IMG 7666.jpg, Male ''P. c. malabaricus'' India File:Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)-Female W IMG 4573.jpg, Female ''P. c. malabaricus'' in India File:Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus.jpg, Female in flight Image:Small Minivet (Male) I3 IMG 8062.jpg, Male ''P. c. pallidus '' in India File:PericrocotusCinnamomeusGould.jpg, Illustration

References

* ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, {{Taxonbar, from=Q244251 small minivet Birds of South Asia Birds of Southeast Asia small minivet small minivet