Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)
Order: PASSERIFORMES
Family: CAMPEPHAGIDAE Cuckoo-Shrikes, Minivets
Scientific name: Pericrocotus divaricatus
English name: Ashy Minivet
Characteristic: Size 20 cm. A slenderly-built bird with long slender tail; upperpart slaty grey contrasting sharply with pale underpat; long black tail trimmed on the outer edges in white; strong beak with a slightly-hooked tip. A male has a conspicuously pale forehead, mid-crown and nape black, while a female has her crown and nape greyish, forehead to lores forming a narrow pale band.
Distribution: Northeast Asia, Eastern China, to Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines.
Habitat: Found in dry evergreen forest, dry dipterocarp forest, mixed deciduous forest, other types of evergreen forest, forest plantations, mangrove forest, from the plain to the high altitude of 1,000 m. In Sakaerat forest, the majority of them are seen dwelling in the dry dipterocarp forest and only some invade into the forest plantations.
Habit: Keeping normally in large flocks, perching on tree tops and branches at moderate heights. Hunting for insects hiding among the leafy crowns; rarely observed sallying after flying preys. No breeding records is known from Thailand
Status: A common both as passage migrant and winter visitor into the Sakaerat area, and its large flocks will be seen between November and March. This bird is a protected wild animal.
