Scarlet Minivet

 

This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from India, Sri Lanka to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hilly country. While the male is scarlet to orange with black upperparts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upperparts. 

The scarlet minivet is 20–22 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet underparts, tail edges, rump, and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade of orange in the male vary across populations. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts, including the face, tail edges, rump and wing patches.

This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. The nest is a cup-like structure woven with small twigs and spiders' webs to increase the strength of the nest. Two or three spotted pale green eggs are laid. Incubation is mainly by the female, but both birds help to raise the offspring.

Picture 1 - Male; Picture 2 - Female.