Grey-chinned Minivet
Grey-chinned Minivet
The Grey-chinned Minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Males of this small (18 cm), colorful bird have an ashy gray head, back, ear-coverts and cheeks, a black line through the eye, and black central tail feathers. The underparts, lower back, rump and sides of tail are bright reddish orange. The wings have a jagged patch of color formed by the reddish tips of the greater coverts and a band across some of the primary feathers. The bill and legs are black. The female Gray-chinned Minivet ( has black areas replaced by dark gray-brown, the lower back and rump are greenish-yellow, and the wing patch and underparts are bright yellow. It feeds on insects, foraging in the canopy of the forest, picking prey from the terminal foliage, and also making short flights to capture flying termites and other insects.