Long-tailed Minivet

Male Long-Tailed Minivet

               How to Identify Long-tailed Minivet

         The long-tailed Minivet (Scientific Name : Pericrocotus ethologus) belongs to the family Passeriformes. It is a medium-sized bird which is  17 to 20 cm long  and weight is between 18 to 20 grams. These birds are sexually dimorphic.

         The male Minivet  have glossy bluish-black head.  Chin, throat and upperparts are also glossy bluish-black . The rump and the underparts are crimson colored. The  wings are black and have broad red patches on it. The color of  tail is black and outer tail feathers is red.

         The female long-tailed Minivet has yellow forehead. The crown, nape, ear coverts and back are grayish. Female has a grayish lore and a yellowish supercilium. The rump is yellowish. The black wings have large yellow patches instead of red patches like male minivet. The tail is black with yellow outer feathers unlike red in male.

         Size of  bill is short but strong  and black in color. The tip of the upper mandible is hooked. The irises are black. Color of  legs and feet are dark gray. The call  is a sweet, rolling repeated "prrr’wi" or "pi-ru" sound.

Female Long-tailed Minivet

               Habits and Habitats

           The natural  habitats of these long-tailed minivet species include tropical and subtropical dry forests, tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, broadleaf and pine forests, foothill forests and moist montane forests. They normally occur in altitudes from 0 to 2000 meters.It is also found in agricultural lands, rural gardens and plantations.
                Food
        Insects, insect larvae, spiders, ants, bees, grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, locust, dragonflies and beetles are main  food.
                Distribution
        Long-tailed minivets are distributed in northern Pakistan, northern India along the Himalayas, Nepal, Bhutan,  Bangladesh, Southern Tibet (China), Central and Southern China.
Minivets has seven recognized subspecies. Name of these Subspecies and their Distribution are as bellow.
    1) P. e. favillaceus Bangs & J. C. Phillips, 1914 –This sub-species are found in North East Afghanistan (Nuristan) and North West Himalayas (E to W Nepal).
    2) P. e. laetus Mayr, 1940 – This sub-species are found in East Nepal, East to North East India (North and West Assam) and South China (SE Xizang).
    3) P. e. ethologus Bangs & J. C. Phillips, 1914 – ( nominate Long-tailed Minivet species) – This sub-species are found in North East India (E Assam), North Myanmar and Central China (Inner Mongolia, Hebei and S Shanxi South to South West Gansu, South East Qinghai, Yunnan and Guizhou).
    4) P. e. mariae Ripley, 1952 – This sub-species are found in East Bangladesh, North-east of India (South East Assam) and West Myanmar (Chin Hills).
    5) P. e. yvettae Bangs, 1921 –This sub-species are found in  North-East Myanmar and South China (West and South West Yunnan).
    6) P. e. ripponi E. C. S. Baker, 1924 – This sub-species are found in East Myanmar (S Shan, Karenni) and North West Thailand.
    7) P. e. annamensis Robinson & Kloss, 1923 – Annam Minivet – This sub-species are found in SC Vietnam (S Annam).

                Breeding and Nesting

       The breeding season of these Long-tailed Minivets is from April to June in most of their range. These species are monogamous. The breeding pair build a cup shaped nest on  branches of trees and shrubs with rootlets, twigs and grass. It is bound with cobweb and lichen.