- Long-tailed Shrike
Taxobox
name = Long-tailed Shrike
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
status_ref = [IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=50964|title=Lanius schach|downloaded=12 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern]
image_caption = "erythronotus race" atHodal inFaridabad District ofHaryana ,India .
image_width = 240px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Laniidae
genus = "Lanius "
species = "L. schach"
binomial = "Lanius schach"
binomial_authority = Linnaeus,1758 The Long-tailed Shrike or the Rufous-backed Shrike ("Lanius schach") is a member of thebird family Laniidae, theshrike s. The eastern orHimalaya n race, "L. s. tricolor", is sometimes called the Black-headed Shrike.It is a common resident breeder throughout the
Indomalaya necozone fromKazakhstan , throughAfghanistan ,Pakistan ,India n peninsula except eastern statescite book
title = Photographic guide to birds of India
last = Grewal
first = Bikram
authorlink = Bikram Grewal
coauthors = Bill Harvey and Otto Pfister
publisher = Periplus editions /Princeton University Press
address = Hong Kong
year = 2002 p. 242] , toNew Guinea , found on bushes in scrubby areas and cultivation. Winter visitor to southern areas such as southeast India andSri Lanka .It has some resemblances to the grey shrikes, such as the
Southern Grey Shrike , "Lanius meridionalis", sharing the pearl grey head and mantle and black mask extending from the forehead, through the eye, to the ear coverts. An eastern race found inBhutan toArunachal Pradesh , sometimes calledthe Himalayan "L. s. tricolor", has a black head extending fromthe eye mask to the whole crown and nape.It is small for a grey shrike, but has a very long tail with rufous edges. The underparts are white, but with rufous flanks. The bill and legs are nearly black.
This bird has a characteristic upright "shrike" attitude perched on a bush, from which it sallies after
lizard s, largeinsect s, small birds androdent s.Prey may be impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn. Thus secured they can be ripped with the strong hooked bill, but its feet are not suited for tearing. Its flight is undulating, but its dash is straight and determined.
This species is a very rare vagrant to western
Europe on the strength of a single accepted British record onSouth Uist in November 2000. It has also occurred as a vagrant toJapan ,Oman ,Israel ,Hungary andTurkey .References
Gallery
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