The origin of the vernacular name of minivets is not known but it seems to be the English adaptation of an Indian name perhaps imitative.

The male white-bellied minivet has a shiny black head, neck, tail and mantle.

The white-bellied minivet is native to Nepal and India, mainly in dry deciduous forests.

This species inhabits open savanna with sparse acacia shoots, dry grasslands and artificial terrestrial areas such as agricultural land.

It feeds mainly on insects that it catches in flight or by perching in the canopy of trees.