Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus)

The Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus) is a very brightly coloured small bird you are very likely to see in South-east Asia.

They are small birds – 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade or orange in the male varies across populations. In the subspecies nigroluteus and marchesae from south Philippines the scarlet/orange is entirely replaced by yellow.

The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches.

I saw these birds in Coorg and Wayanad in several locations. They have an extremely large range so you are likely to see them on any birding trip in the Western Ghats of India (Central Asia) or all over South-east Asia.