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 - White-bellied Minivet
 - White-bellied Minivet
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White-bellied Minivet Pericrocotus erythropygius Scientific name definitions

Kulbushansingh Suryawanshi
Version: 2.0 — Published July 31, 2020

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Introduction

The White-bellied Minivet is an intriguing bird of the scrub-jungles of India. Despite its widespread distribution across peninsular India, it is very local and rare almost everywhere. Very little is known about the habitat use, population dynamics, or conservation status of this species. The recent State of India's Birds report estimated its population to be stable over the previous five years (2014-2019; 1). Like all minivets, males and females look different. The male has a black head and back contrasting against the white lower belly and showy orange on the breast. In females, the black areas of the male are replaced by gray brown, while the orange on the breast is replaced by ashy gray. White-bellied Minivet is very similar to Jerdon's Minivet (P. albifrons), with which it was considered to be a conspecific until recently.

Although not considered globally threatened (Least Concern), its preferred habitat of open savannah grassland and thorn scrub jungle is declining across India. It is also known to occur in the mosaics of cultivated land, fallow land, and thorn scrub forest patches, but information on almost every aspect of this species is uncertain.

Distribution of the White-bellied Minivet (White-bellied) - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the White-bellied Minivet (White-bellied)

Recommended Citation

Suryawanshi, K. (2020). White-bellied Minivet (Pericrocotus erythropygius), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbmin3.02
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