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Photo by Peteee23
Isle of Man

Lanius meridionalis

Includes Steppe Grey Shrike

[edit] Identification

[edit] Distribution

Southern Europe, steppes of central Asia and north Africa:
Europe: France, Corsica, Portugal, Spain, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Lanzarotte, Tenerife
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia
Middle East: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Socotra, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Asia: Russia, Turkestan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh

[edit] Taxonomy

Steppe Grey Shrike pallidirostris
Photo by kuwaity

In the past this species was lumped in Great Grey Shrike.
Pallidirostris from the steppes of C Asia is sometimes considered a full species called Steppe Grey Shrike. However this split is not yet accepted by any of the big world lists.

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

More than 10 subspecies recognized.

• L. m. meridionalis:

• Iberian Peninsula and southern France; winters to north-western Africa

• L. m. koenigi:

• Canary Islands

• L. m. algeriensis:

• Morocco (north of Atlas Mountains), coastal northern Algeria and Tunisia

• L. m. elegans:

• Northern Sahara (Mauritania to Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea)

• L. m. leucopygos:

• Southern Sahara (Mali to Nile River valley of the Sudan)

• L. m. aucheri:

• West coast of Red Sea to southern Iran and Arabian Peninsula

• L. m. theresae:

• Galilee hills of northern Israel and southern Lebanon

• L. m. buryi:

• Yemen; vagrant to Djibouti and Ethiopia

• L. m. uncinatus:

• Socotra

• L. m. jebelmarrae:

• Western Sudan (Darfur)

• L. m. lahtora:

• Eastern Pakistan and northern India

• L. m. pallidirostris:

• Iran to arid steppes of western China (Xinjiang, Gansu and Ningsia)

[edit] Habitat

Dry open country.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Hunting behaviour is similar to other shrikes, using prominent perches and impaling corpses on thorns and barbed wire spikes.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links