Ryukyu Minivet Pericrocotus tegimae 琉球山椒鳥
Category I. Accidental.
IDENTIFICATION
Feb. 2021, Michelle and Peter Wong.
18-21 cm. Similar to Ashy Minivet but slightly smaller, shorter-tailed and darker above (especially the male). The crown and ear coverts are as or nearly as dark as the mantle and back, the black loral line is broad and the white band on the forecrown of the male is narrow, while on the female it is nearly absent. The underparts are duller than Ashy Minivet and the tail has less white in the outer feathers.
Dec. 2023, Japan. Yann Muzika. Male.
The narrow well-defined frontal band above the bill and the obvious, partial orbital ring crescents are visible on this bird.
VOCALISATIONS
The call is similar to that of Ashy Minivet but slightly deeper.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
The sole record occurred in woodland on HK Island.
OCCURRENCE
2021: one was at Mount Davis on 14 February (Li and Wong 2025).
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
No observations.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Monotypic (formerly considered conspecific with Ashy Minivet). Occurs in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, but has recently spread over the whole of Kyushu and into western Honshu (del Hoyo et al. 2020). In China has been recorded in Shanghai and Guangdong (Liu and Chen 2021).
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend increasing.
del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ryumin1.01
Li, T. C. H. and S. M. Wong (in press). Ryukyu Minivet Pericrocotus tegimae at Mount Davis. The first Hong Kong record. Hong Kong Bird Report 2021.
Liu, Y. and S. H. Chen (eds) (2021). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House, Changsha.
