Pericrocotus flammeus, Forst.
272. :- Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 420 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 393.
THE ORANGE MINIVET.
Length, 8.25; wing, 3.8 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0.62; bill at front, 0.5. Bill black; irides dark-brown ; legs brown-black.
Male, with the whole head and neck, upper back, scapulars and wings, glossy blue-black; wings with a broad orange-red band, formed by all the quills having the central portion red, and the edges of the lesser wing-coverts also ; tail with the two central feathers black, the next pair black, tipped red, and all the others blackish at the base, and orange-red for nearly half their terminal length.
The female has the head, neck, back and wing-coverts ashy; the forehead narrowly tinged with yellow; the lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts, greenish-yellow ; the quills and tail dusky-black, the former with a yellow wing spot, and the latter with the lateral tail-feathers yellow.
The Orange Minivet is a permanent resident and is not uncommon all along the Sahyadri Range from Goa to Khandalla. It has not been recorded from any other portion of our province.
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