Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

Narsapur Forest Range, Telangana

The small minivet species is distributed in Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. These minivet species are common resident birds of the thorn jungles and shrubs of the Deccan Plateau and they are polytypic species. They are found everywhere in the country, wherever they can find their naturally preferred habitat of forests, groves, gardens and tree-dotted cultivation. The only region where Small Minivets are not seen are the arid parts of Rajasthan.

The Small Minivet is, appropriately, a small bird (15 cms). It hunts chiefly small insects that live in trees, but does not say no to flower nectar (!) when it can’t find trees. It works tirelessly in its search for food, keeping to tree tops and flying actively amidst foliage. Hence, as you can imagine, it is an extremely difficult bird to sight, leave alone photograph. Yet, here it is, perching on what I think is an east indian screw tree (Helicteres isora) tree. Hurrah!!!

An interesting experience this one. I was on my own accompanied only by my friend and driver, Aijaz. We’d arrived well before dawn and were in position on an embankment when we both spotted the bright orange whizzing past at some distance. There is a dried pond here which has always piqued my curiosity because when it does fill with water it is a natural deterrent and slightly isolates a couple of trees of the wild guava and a lantana bush. Very good perches and it is in this general vicinity that I had earlier photographed the beautiful Black Redstart.

My other redstarts are linked below.

1. Redstart - What’s in a name?

2. Blue-fronted Redstart

But this time it is about the Small Minivet - the beautiful male and the shy and hardworking female. We’d arrived well before the sun came up and were in time to spot the initial foray of the minivets as they left their perch for the night. What was curios was that 10 minutes later they were back at the same tree and literally the same branch. We waited to see if the behaviour would repeat and sure enough it did almost every 10 minutes and then a long gap of about 20 minutes. I realised they were building a nest. I took advantage of what I estimated to be their long trip out to move closer.

I first set myself up along the dried pond bed but to no avail. Both the male and the female didn’t come. Was I standing in their flight path, I wondered?

What if I move a few feet to the left, but there was a substantial lantana bush there. How about the other side of the lantana and sure enough there was a little niche there which allowed me to move in and blend into the profile of the lantana. I stayed put here for three hours and the birds gave me more than enough opportunities to photograph them from very close range. There were a few people from the local birding group who were walking around but for the most part the birds were undisturbed and relaxed. This pair was busy building a nest and as long as they were undisturbed they went about their business quite consistently. The nest is constructed by both sexes as you can see here and over period of 7 days. The nest is a small, deep, neat cup of fine twigs, grass stems, lichens, dead leaves or bark, lined with rootlets and bound with cobwebs, attached to tree branch or fork above ground. They lay a clutch of 2–4 eggs. The incubation is by female provisioned by male;. The incubation period is 11 days and fledging period is 12 days.

Narsapur Forest Range

Being located in the Deccan Plateau in the central stretch, the prosperous state of Telangana has sub-tropical climate and the terrain consists mostly of hills, mountain ranges, and thick dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km². The annual rainfall ranges between 1,100 mm to 1,200 mm and the annual temperature varies from 15 C to 45 C. The state is drained by a number of rivers which include the Godavari and the Krishna.

Telangana is endowed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has dense teak forests on the northern part along the banks of river Godavari. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Telangana belong to three Forest Type Groups, which are further divided into 12 Forest Types. The State Government has taken up a massive greening programme, 'Telangana Ku Harita Haram' in the State to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over a period of 4 years. This initiative aims at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the forest cover and reduce pressure on the existing forest resources, through massive community participation by Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSS) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in Protected Areas and Watershed Development Committees in the Watershed areas. Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 26,904 km² of which 20,353 km² is Reserved Forest, 5,939 km² is Protected Forest and 612 km² is Unclassed Forests. In Telangana, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 9,420 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF & CC, 2019). As per the information received from the State during that last two years, 12,730 ha of plantations including avenue plantations in the State.

Three National Parks and nine Wildlife Sanctuaries constitute the Protected Area network of the State covering 5.08% of its geographical area.

The Narsapur forest range is spread over 30 km² at a easily drivable distance of 45 km from Hyderabad, the state capital. It is brimming with a plethora of exquisite and fragrant flora and fauna, natural rock formations and ponds. Located in the Medak district, the Narsapur forest is at its best during the monsoons. There are small steep elevations which are easy to climb and invariably most of these begin at a temple in the forest. There is also the Narsapur Forest Urban Park with a watchtower in close proximity which provides stunning views of the whole forest. Our sojourn starts at one of these temples just off the highway where we park our cars and trek into the forest. The area surrounding and in close proximity of the temple is teeming with bird life and if one has the patience one is assured of spotting numerous species as they forage in the foliage.

Small Minivet

The small minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) is a small passerine bird found in tropical Southern Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to Indonesia. It is a small bird about 16 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male differs from most other common minivets by virtue of its grey black colours compared to the usual glossy black.. The upperparts and head are grey with orange underparts fading to yellow on the belly. Orange tail edges, rump and wing patches. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches.

There is much racial variation. The male P. c. pallidus of the northwest Indian subcontinent is pale grey above, with the underparts whitish except on the throat and flanks, whereas the male P. c. malabaricus of peninsular and southern India is darker above, has more extensive scarlet below. The female of the southern race is also brighter yellow below.

The small minivet is a widespread and common resident breeding bird in thorn jungle and scrub. The nest is a cup-like structure into which two to four spotted eggs are laid and incubated by the female.

The small minivet is a small bird, measuring 15 to 16 cm in length and weighing 6 to 12 grams with a lot of plumage variance among the subspecies. The male small minivet nominate subspecies has gray upperparts and orange underparts. The lower forehead is dark gray. The face, ear coverts, lore, chin and upper throat are blackish gray. The belly and undertail are yellowish. The rump and outer tail feathers are orange. There is an orange wing patch. The female is gray on the upperparts and has whitish or pale creamy yellow underparts. It has dark gray lore.

The bill is strong, pointed and dark gray in color. The irises are blackish. The legs and feet are black. The call of these minivet species is a high, whistling, "tswee-eet.tswee-eet" or "swee..swee.. swee" sound. This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. The small minivet will form small flocks.

These small minivets are distributed in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The nine recognized subspecies of the small minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) are: P. c. cinnamomeus, P. c. saturatus, P. c. separatus, P. c. sacerdos, P. c. vividus, P. c. malabaricus, P. c. peregrinus, P. c. pallidus and P. c. thai.

The small minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) is closely related to the fiery minivet (Pericrocotus igneus).

In India, the small minivet species are distributed in all the states, except for the arid regions in Rajasthan. They are present in the Andaman Islands. In Indonesia, they are distributed only in Java and Bali Islands. The small minivet nominate subspecies P. c. cinnamomeus is distributed in central and southeastern India and Sri Lanka. The subspecies P. c. peregrinus is distributed along the Himalayas and north India.

The small minivet subspecies P. c. pallidus is distributed in northwest India and Pakistan. The subspecies P. c. saturatus is distributed in Indonesia (Java and Bali).The subspecies P. c. separatus is distributed in southeast Myanmar and peninsular Thailand.

The minivet subspecies P. c. sacerdos is distributed in southern Vietnam and Cambodia. The subspecies P. c. thai is distributed in northeast Myanmar, northeast Thailand and Laos. The subspecies P. c. malabaricus is distributed in southwest India.

The small minivet subspecies P. c. vividus is distributed in central and eastern Himalayas, northeastern India, Bangladesh, west and central Myanmar, south Thailand and Andaman Islands (India).

The Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) of these minivets in Laos are, Xe Kong Plains, Nakai Plateau, Dong Khanthung, Dong Kalo and Attapu Plain. The IBA in Cambodia are, Western Siem Pang and Mondulkiri - Kratie Lowlands.

The IBA of the small minivet in Nepal are, Bardia National Park, Barandabhar forests, Dang Deukhuri foothill forests, Chitwan National Park, Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Ghodaghodi Lake and Dharan forests.

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These small minivet species have moderate forest dependence. They normally occur in altitudes from 0 to 1500 meters. The artificial ecosystems and habitats of these species include agricultural lands and rural gardens. The natural ecosystems and habitats of these small minivet species include, tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, tropical dry forests, mangroves, deciduous forests and tropical and subtropical moist shrublands.

The diet of this small minivet consists mainly of insects. Insects, insect pupae and larvae, caterpillars, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, crickets and locust are their primary food. They glean insect prey from the trees as well as catch on the wing.

The breeding season of these small minivet species is from February to November in most of their range. Sometimes they raise a second brood. These species are monogamous and territorial. The nesting sites include tree branches and shrubs. The nest is a small cup-like structure made with twigs and leaves. The clutch contains two to four blotchy eggs. The chicks hatch out after 14 days of incubation. The incubation is mostly by the female.

These small minivet species are non-migrant resident birds. They disperse locally after breeding. The populations in higher altitudes descend to the lower levels during winter. The global population size of the small minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) has not been quantified. The overall population trend of the species is considered to be stable. In most of its range, this minivet species is reported to be locally very common to uncommon. The generation length is not known. Its distribution size is about 13,100,000 sq.km. Habitat alteration and destruction, deforestation and capture of adults and juveniles for pet-trade are the main threats that are endangering the survival of these minivet species.

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This first set of pictures were taken from the embankment where I was initially standing and as you can see the pair were pretty far for a good picture.

This next set are when I’d moved in closer and was placed about 30 feet from the tree on the bank of the erstwhile pond.

Finally, this set was when I got into the niche of the lantana and almost out of view of the birds and much closer than earlier.

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