#minla

Red-tailed Minla (Minla ignotincta), family Leiothrichidae, order Passeriformes, West Bengal, India

By Godbolemandar, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Etymology: Minla (A name for the bird from Nepal)

First Described By: Hodgson, 1837

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Sylviida, Sylvioidea, Leiothrichidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Red-Tailed Minla is known primarily from Southeastern Asia 

Physical Description: The Red-Tailed Minla is a small bird, ranging between 13 and 15 centimeters in length. They are shaped as most passerines are, with a small round body and a little round head. Their tails are short as well. They have black and white stripes across their heads, and their backs are mostly brown. Their bellies are yellow and white, and their tails are black. The females have light brown wings with black and white striping, and black feathers included in the tail - where the males have red and black and white wings, with red feathers in the tail. They have tiny pointy beaks, good for picking out insects. The juveniles are essentially identical to the females. 

By Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Diet: These minlas primarily feed on insects and their larvae, though they will sometimes feed on seeds.

Behavior: Red-Tailed Minlas spend most of their time foraging along branches and trunks, searching through the moss and lichen for food. They’ll hop along the branches and bend around them to inspect the undersides of the leaves. As they sing to each other, they make loud repeated wi-ti-wi calls, as well as slurs and harsher yips. They do not migrate, but they do move back and forth based on food availability. They begin their breeding season in April, and conclude in June; they make nests of small pendant-shaped cups with moss and rootlets low in the tree level. Two to four blue eggs are laid, and very little more is known of their behavior. 

By Dibyendu Ash, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Ecosystem: The minlas live mainly in broadleaf evergreen and conifer forests, though they can be found in pine and deciduous forest. They’re usually found at moderate to high elevations.

Other: The Red-Tailed Minla is not considered threatened with extinction, and is extremely common especially in the easternmost part of its range.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

Red-tailed Minla (Minla ignotincta), family Leiothrichidae, order Passeriformes, Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary, AP, India

Bar-throated Minla or Chestnut-tailed Minla (Actinodura strigula), family Leiothrichidae, Sikkim, India

Red-tailed Minla (Minla ignotincta), family Leiothrichidae, India