Ryukyu Minivet

Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae) is a small Japanese endemic cuckooshrike with dark grey upperparts, pale underparts and contrasting white markings in the wings. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits subtropical forest and wooded landscapes of the Ryukyu region, searching foliage and the canopy for insects, often in pairs or small groups; it was formerly treated as an ashy minivet subspecies. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).