Orange Minivet
Pericrocotus flammeus
Brightly-colored forest bird with a long tail. Male is decked out in black and orange-red, female in gray and yellow. Male lacks Small Minivet’s contrasting gray crown and back. Gives very high, somewhat bubbling twitter of “weeeep” notes. Travels in flocks, sometimes mixed in with other species. Often seen in bounding flight over the forest canopy.
Identification
The orange minivet measures about 17 – 22 cm and weighs 19 - 24.5 g. Males are bright orange and black while females are largely yellow with a grey upperside. Males have a glossy black head, chin, throat and mantle and upper back. Lower back, rump and uppertail-coverts are orange-red. Underparts are largely bright orange-red, that makes it stand out in the surroundings. It can be distinguished from other Pericrocotus species by isolated red markings near tips of tertials and inner secondaries. Females have a yellow forehead and ashy-grey, lower back. Red areas of male are replaced by yellow and in addition they have a yellow chin and are almost completely bright yellow on the underside. Juveniles resemble the female in this species with some variation.
Taxonomy
The genus name comes from Ancient Greek peri - 'very'; krokotus 'saffron-coloured'. The species name flammeus has its roots in Latin, meaning 'fiery' or 'flame-coloured' (flamma - 'flame'). The English name of this species was changed from scarlet minivet to orange minivet after the former was assigned to Pericrocotus speciosus following the split of these two species. This is a complex of species from South and South-east Asia which needs more detailed work.
- Scientific name
- Pericrocotus flammeus
- Authority
- (Forster, JR, 1781)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Pericrocotus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The species is gregarious, typically seen foraging in small groups (more than 2 individuals) along tree tops in forests. Minivets are often seen to make bouncing flights over the canopy of the forest. They are primarily insectivorous, known to perch and scan surroundings. They catch prey by making a flight and hovering at plant surfaces to pick insects. This behaviour is often known as sally-gleaning. They regularly forage in mixed-hunting parties along with other canopy species of birds. The call of this species is sweeping whistles composed of multiple "weep-sweep" notes. They are often seen to call when in flight or when stationary.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
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