Abstract
T he very beautiful Scarlet Mini vet Pericrocotus flammeus, is a member of the Campephagiclae family, birds that fall within the general category of passerines or songbirds.
For some unknown reason, these colorful and clever little birds have had next to nothing written about them in either the scientific literature or in avicultural publications and what has been written is often confusing and contradictory. For example, there are a wide variety of common names given to the birds in this family, with minivets being called everything from caterpillar birds to cuckoo-shrikes to trillers or to flycatchers. For the purposes of this article, we will refer to them as minivets.
Scientific classification of the birds in this family, which is comprised of nine genera, is somewhat confusing as well and the exact number of bird species or subspecies that should be included in this group seems to vary from one authority to another. Generally speaking, ornithologists have recognized 10 species in the genus Pericrocotuswhich include the commonly named Scarlet (with at least two subspecies), Rosy, Ashy, Yellow-throated, Flore's, Small, Long-tailed, Suncla, jerdon's, and Smallbilled Minivets.
These 10 species of birds vary considerably in physical appearance. Size alone is one easy way to distinguish one species from another since the birds can be as small as five inches and as long as 12 inches, measured from beak to tail. Another consistent characteristic is sexual dimorphism, with the males tending to be brightly colored
while the females tend towards a combination of dull yellow or orange alternating with black or gray plumage.
Minivets are found only in a relatively small range in the earth's Eastern Hemisphere. Habitats include the countries of India, Sri Lanka, Borneo, Afghanistan, the southernmost part of China, Malaysia, throughout the lower Himalayas, and occasionally in the Philippines. In fact, it is the birds that populate the Himalayas that fall into the two subspecies of Scarlet Minivets - with the birds living at higher elevations tending towards a more redscarlet plumage while those living at lower elevations appearing more orange in coloration.
Regardless of locale, the birds seem to like to live in sparsely wooded forests or on hills with moderate brush and tree cover. The birds tend to be sedentary and are not known to migrate any great distance, though they do wander in a nomadic fashion, searching out new sources of food. The only exception to the non-migration rule are, again, those species found in the Himalayas, where cold winters force the birds to relocate to lower elevations to avoid harsh conditions and ensure that they find adequate food to keep them through the harsh and freezing conditions.
These birds are a combination of insectivores/frugivores, dining primarily on invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, flies, and grubs supplemented by buds, berries, and small fruits. Caterpillars are a favorite with these birds, hence the family name Campephagidae, Latin for caterpillar.
While no field studies have been
done to specifically categorize these birds' diets, captive birds (such as minivets at the San Diego Zoo) apparently do well on a combination of mealworms, waxworms, crickets, mixed fruit, and a small portion of soaked cat and dog chow.
In the wild, the search for food is often carried out by large groups of birds, comprised of either extended family parties or of flocks of unrelated birds numbering as many as 150 members. Vocalizations are most common when the birds are in a flocking formation, with some species giving off only a soft and wheezing call while other species communicate in shrill whistles and harsh calls.
The nest of all 10 species of minivets is typically a shallow cup made from twigs, roots, and dried grass. The components are often bound together with spider webs and are camouflaged with bark or lichen so that they seem to be part of the branches upon which they sit. Minivets tend to place their nests fairly high in trees but whether this is to avoid predators or for some other reason is unknown, particularly since much of their food is found at or near ground level. Clutch size can vary from a single egg to as many as three and the eggs themselves vary in coloration, again depending on the species. Many species' eggs are speckled or blotched with a contrasting color such as redbrown or purple-gray. In some species the female handles all the incubation while in others the parents share the burden equally.
Another interesting point is that pairs of a given species often nest in close proximity to one another and there is some evidence that the parents (who both participate in feeding the young) will often feed chicks in a neighboring nest as well as chicks of their own.
According to ISIS records, only five zoos in the United States house minivets in their collections. San Diego Zoo, as an example, keeps one subspecies of the Scarlet Minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus fohkiensis, in a mixed flight with Blue-tailed Trogons, Tawny-breasted Parrot Finches, Yunnan Red-tailed Minlas, and Lesser Green Broadbills.