Ashy Minivet

Name: Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Classification: Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Passeriformes > Campephagidae > Pericrocotus > divaricatus

Habitat: Low-density urban, Urban

Description: A common winter visitor to Singapore from the months of September to April, the Ashy Minivet is famously difficult to identify due to its penchant for hiding high up in the canopies of tall trees and its similarity to the Pied Triller (Lalage nigra), a fellow member of the cuckooshrike family (Family: Campephagidae). The Ashy Minivet is a small black and white bird that exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the with both sexes having largely grey upperparts and white underparts, and the male having a black crown, neck and stripe running over the beak between the two eyes. In the female, the crown is grey although the stripe between the two eyes remains black in colour. In the field, distinguishing between the Ashy Minivet and the Pied Triller can be difficult, especially given the unpredictability of environmental conditions. In general, however, Ashy Minivets have longer tails relative to the Pied Triller and the upper forehead of the Ashy Minivet is white while in the Pied Triller, the entire crown and forehead is black.

Call:

Ashy Minivet (Source: xeno-canto.org)

Distribution Map:

Photo Gallery: