Scarlet Minivet
Encyclopedia
The Scarlet Minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus is a small passerine
bird
. This minivet
is found in tropical southern Asia
from the India
n subcontinent east to southern China
, Indonesia
, and the Philippines
. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hill
y country. While the male is scarlet to orange with black upper parts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upper parts. Several former subspecies
have been elevated to species status in recent works. These include the Orange Minivet (flammeus in the narrow sense) while the Scarlet Minivet in the restricted sense is used for Pericrocotus speciosus. All subspecies have the same habits of gleaning
for insect
s and are often seen in mixed-species foraging flocks, usually foraging in small groups, high up in the forest canopy.
and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet
underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade or orange in the male varies across populations. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches.
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There is considerable geographic variation in this species and several disjunct populations exist. Some former races are sometimes considered full species requiring the reorganization of other former subspecies. As many as nineteen subspecies have been described. Race speciosus (Latham, 1790) found along the Himalayas from Kashmir east to southern China has been elevated to a full species in some works. If this is considered a species, then the races fraterculus, andamanensis and semiruber would be considered as subspecies of that species. The named subspecies within this complex include:
Several isolated island forms that have been described include:
s in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet Minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. The nest is a cup-like structure woven with small twigs and spider
s' webs to increase the strength of the nest. Two or three spotted pale green egg
s are laid. Incubation is mainly by the female, but both birds help to raise the offspring.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. This minivet
Minivet
The minivets are passerine birds belonging to the genus Pericrocotus in the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. There are about 13 species, occurring mainly in forests in southern and eastern Asia. They are fairly small, slender birds with long tails and an erect posture. Many species have bright...
is found in tropical southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
from the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n subcontinent east to southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
y country. While the male is scarlet to orange with black upper parts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upper parts. Several former subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
have been elevated to species status in recent works. These include the Orange Minivet (flammeus in the narrow sense) while the Scarlet Minivet in the restricted sense is used for Pericrocotus speciosus. All subspecies have the same habits of gleaning
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
for insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and are often seen in mixed-species foraging flocks, usually foraging in small groups, high up in the forest canopy.
Description
The Scarlet Minivet is 20 – long with a strong dark beakBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade or orange in the male varies across populations. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches.
Taxonomy and systematics
- speciosus (Latham, 1790) along the Himalayas
- fraterculus Swinhoe, 1870 is found in the northeast of India and extends into Myanmar, Yunnan and Hainan
- semiruber WhistlerHugh WhistlerHugh Whistler , F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. was an English ornithologist who worked in India. He wrote one of the first field guides to Indian birds and documented the distributions of in numerous notes in several journals apart from describing several new subspecies.-Life and career:Whistler was born in...
& KinnearNorman Boyd KinnearSir Norman Boyd Kinnear was a Scottish zoologist and ornithologist.Kinnear was the son of the wealthy Edinburgh architect Charles George Hood Kinnear and came from the same banking family as Sir William Jardine.While studying at Trinity College, Glenalmond, he worked as a voluntary assistant at...
, 1933 is found in southern Myanmar and Thailand - andamanensis BeavanRobert Cecil BeavanCaptain Robert Cecil Beavan Corresponding member of the Zoological Society, served in India with the Bengal Staff Corps for 10 years. During his short life he collected specimens of birds and eggs at various locations. He contributed notes to the Ibis journal as wells as the Proceedings of the...
, 1867 - Andaman Islands
- flammeus (J. R. Forster, 1781) Western GhatsWestern GhatsThe Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
, Nilgiris and Sri Lanka (called the Orange Minivet) - fohkiensis Buturlin, 1910 is found in southeastern China
- flammifer HumeAllan Octavian HumeAllan Octavian Hume was a civil servant, political reformer and amateur ornithologist in British India. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, a political party that was later to lead the Indian independence movement...
, 1875 is found in southern Myanmar, southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia - xanthogaster (Raffles, 1822) is found in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra
Several isolated island forms that have been described include:
- minythomelas OberholserHarry Church OberholserHarry Church Oberholser was an American ornithologist.Oberholser worked for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey from 1895 to 1941, first as an ornithologist, later as a biologist, and finally as an editor. He was the author of a number of books and articles...
, 1912 is an insular form described from Simeulue Island off Sumatra. - modiglianii Salvadori, 1892 from Enggano Island
- insulanus Deignan, 1946 from Borneo.
- siebersi Rensch, 1928 from Java and Bali.
- exul Wallace, 1864 from Lombok
- novus McGregor, 1904 from Luzon and Negros
- leytensis Steere, 1890 from Samar, Leyte and Bohol
- gonzalesi Ripley & Rabor, 1961 from N & E Mindanao
- nigroluteus Parkes, 1981 from south central Mindanao
- johnstoniae Ogilvie-Grant, 1905 from Mt. Apo in southeastern Mindanao
- marchesae Guillemard, 1885 from the Sulu Archipelago
Ecology and behaviour
This minivet catches insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet Minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. The nest is a cup-like structure woven with small twigs and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s' webs to increase the strength of the nest. Two or three spotted pale green egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are laid. Incubation is mainly by the female, but both birds help to raise the offspring.