Long-tailed Minivet

Subspecies P. e. favillaceus male
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2019

Pericrocotus ethologus

Identification

Subspecies P. e. ripponi male
Photo © by thai robby thai
Huai Nam Daeng NP, Thailand, February 2017

17·5–20·5 cm (6¾-8 in)
Male

• Black (glossed blue) head and upperparts to upper back
• Scarlet lower back to upper tail coverts
  

Female grey and yellow. A red patch on the secondaries is a distinguishing feature.

Distribution

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

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies P. e. favillaceus female
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, March-2018

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• P. e. favillaceus:

• Himalayas of Afghanistan and Kashmir to Nepal

• P. e. laetus:

• East Nepal to Sikkim, Bengal and western Assam (Khasi Hills)

• P. e. ethologus:

South China and extreme north-eastern India; winters to northern Indochina

• P. e. yvettae:

• Myanmar and adjacent south-western China (Yunnan)

• P. e. ripponi:

• South-West China (Yunnan), eastern Myanmar (southern Shan States) and north-western1Thailand

• P. e. annamensis:

• South Vietnam (Langbian Plateau)

Habitat

Various woodland types, from open broadleaf and pine forests.

Behaviour

Diet

Subspecies P. e. yvettae female
Photo © by BIJ
Lugu hu, Sichuan/Yunnan border, China, October 2007

Their main diet consists of insects and their larvae, and includes beetles, flies and spiders.

Breeding

Both adults build the cup-shaped nest from grass stems, thin twigs, rootlets or moss, with cobwebs and lichen on the outside.

Vocalisation

Recording by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal, Uttarakhand Himalayas, Alt. 5500 ft., India, March-2018
Male moving through the canopy and calling.

References

Subspecies P. e. favillaceus male
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, March-2018

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Sept 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Long-tailed Minivet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Long-tailed_Minivet

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