From Opus

Alternative Name: Isabelline Shrike

Photo by Askar Isabekov
Kazakhstan, Alma Ata, April 2004

Lanius isabellinus

Includes Turkestan Shrike / Red-tailed Shrike and Daurian Shrike

[edit] Identification

16-18cm

• Sandy-grey upperparts
• Buffish-white underparts
• Long rufous tail

Ssp phoenicuroides (Turkestan Shrike)
Photo by Askar Isabekov
Alma Ata, Kazakhstan

[edit] Similar Species

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike:

[edit] Distribution

Eurasia including Iran, Afghanistan across to western China. Winters in East Africa and from the Near East east to south-western India.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• L. i. phoenicuroides:

• Iran to Pakistan, southern Kazakhstan and extreme western China (western Xinjiang)

• L. i. isabellinus (speculigerus):

• South-eastern Altai and north-central China; winters to India, eastern and central Africa

• L. i. arenarius:

• North-western China (Xinjiang); winters to Iran, Pakistan and north-western India

• L. i. tsaidamensis:

• North-central China (Qinghai); wintering grounds unknown

Some authorities split phoenicuroides from Kazakhstan as Turkestan Shrike (or Red-tailed Shrike). Speculigerus from East Asia is also split as Daurian Shrike.

Shrike with its larder
Photo by jtwood
Shetland, 2010

[edit] Habitat

Desert oases, thorn forests, and other scrubby, shrub and woodlands. Also on farmland.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Movement

It hunts from a low, exposed perch from which it either glides and hovers to take its prey or drops directly onto it when the prey is below the perch.

[edit] Diet

Insects are caught in flight. The bird returns to its perch in order to eat or store its prey; it stores food on spikes (twigs, barbed wire, thorns) for later consumption. It impales small mammals before it consumes it and such prey is tackled by eating the head and limbs first.

[edit] Breeding

A nest of dry grass stems lined with soft grass is build and placed in a tree or bush. The 4-8, usually 5-6, eggs are laid late May – late June and are incubated by the female for 15-16 days, while the male feeds her. Both parents feed juveniles, which fledge at 13-14 days.

[edit] References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Wikipedia
3. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
4. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
5. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links

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