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Endemic Species White-whiskered Laughingthrush
Yellow Tit
Endemic Sub-Species
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
More Birds in Taiwan |
Gray-chinned Minivet Pericrocotus solaris
The 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 griseogularis subspecies found in southeastern China and Taiwan has a gray chin and a grayish throat tinged yellow-olive. 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.
The Gray-chinned Minivet prefers open forest, forest edge and secondary growth. 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. Its calls include a repeated, thin “tswee-seet” and soft “trip” and “trii-ii” notes when foraging. The Gray-chinned Minivet is resident year-round in Taiwan, breeding between April and July. The male and female together build a small cup nest of twigs, roots and grass stems bound with cobwebs, placed high on a branch or in the fork of a tree in the forest. The female lays three eggs, and both sexes tend the young. Gray-chinned Minivets are especially common in the northern and eastern parts of Taiwan, at elevations of 200 to 2,500 meters.
References: The Complete Guide to Birds in Taiwan (Jin-yuan Wang); Handbook of Birds of the World Vol. 10
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