Short-billed Minivet
Pericrocotus brevirostris
Brilliantly colored and long-tailed inhabitant of the forest canopy. Males are bright red and black, and females are gray and yellow. Both sexes are very similar to their counterparts in other red-and-black minivet species. Males have a simple pattern on the wing that resembles a “V” or a lightning bolt; lacks the extra blotches of the slightly larger Scarlet Minivet. Females have less gray on the head than the females of the otherwise identically colored Long-tailed and Gray-chinned Minivets. Typically intermediate in altitude between Long-tailed and Scarlet Minivets. Gives high thin whistles.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pericrocotus brevirostris
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1831)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Pericrocotus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Horsfield's Babbler
Malacocincla sepiaria
A small, dull babbler with a short tail. Brown with a gray head and pale underparts. Dark gray crown, faintly streaked breast, and brighter buffy wash on the flanks eliminate similar-looking Abbott’s Babbler. Similarly drab White-chested and Sooty-capped babblers have longer tails and bills. Found in lowland and foothill forests. Typical song is a sharp chip followed by a whistled note or two: “chi puh-weee!”; Javan birds add a longer, ascending whistle to the end.
Sind Woodpecker
Dendrocopos assimilis
Only black-and-white woodpecker in most of its range. Note the big white shoulder patches and white bars on the black back. Very similar to Syrian Woodpecker, but the Sind Woodpecker is smaller, with a thinner moustache, more white on the back, and a slightly smaller bill. Inhabits dry, open scrub and woodlands. Calls include a squeaky trill and a single-noted “kwik.”
Plain-breasted Ground Dove
Columbina minuta
Small, inconspicuous dove of savannas and open grassland with scattered low bushes and palmettos; also found locally in cane fields and pastures. Usually found in pairs or small groups, sometimes associating with other ground doves. Both sexes are rather plain overall, with diagnostic purple marks on the back, although the color is often hard to see. The female can be easily confused with the much commoner Ruddy Ground Dove, which also has a plain breast, but the Ruddy Ground Dove is larger and warmer brown overall; also note vocal differences.
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