Short-billed Minivet - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Ayuwat J
Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiangmai, Thailand

Pericrocotus brevirostris

Identification

19–20 cm (7½-7¾ in)
Nominate male

Glossy blue-back head down to upper breast, mantle and scapulars
Deep crimson back to uppertail-coverts

Distribution

Female
Photo by robby thai
Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, December 2016

Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal
South Asia: India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subsp^[1]:

P. b. brevirostris:

Eastern Himalayas to south-eastern Tibet, Nepal and western Assam

P. b. affinis:

South-western China (southern Sichuan to western Yunnan) to eastern Assam and north-western Myanmar

P. b. neglectus:

Northern Thailand to northern Tenasserim and northern Laos

P. b. anthoides:

South-western China (south-eastern Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong) to northern Vietnam

Habitat

Open deciduous and evergreen forests, secondary grown and forest edges.

Behaviour

Diet

They forage in the foliage for both larval and adult arthropods.
Usually seen in pairs and can often be found in mixed species feeding flocks.

Breeding

Their breeding season runs during March and April. They construct a neat cup formed from moss and lichen. It is placed on an outer branch of a tree about 10 m high. The clutch consists of 3 eggs.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2017)

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Short-billed Minivet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Short-billed_Minivet

External Links

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