Tiger Shrike

Male
Photo by Jan Bisschop
Happy Island, May 2005

Juvenile
Photo by the late Laurence Poh
Papan forest nursery, September 2003

Lanius tigrinus

Identification

17-19 cm

• Thick black-tipped blue-black bill
• Greyish-black legs
• Reddish brown back, rump and shoulders with black bars creating a tiger-like pattern
• Black mask
• Grey crown and nape
• Dull brown wings and tail
• White underparts
  

Female: duller with white stripe above the eye and black barring on the flanks
Young birds have dark scale-like markings and lack the grey and black head markings

Distribution

Central and eastern China, Korea, Japan, far east Russia. It winters mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Lowland forests and forest clearings and edges, cultivated land, rice fields, mangroves and gardens

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, bugs, butterflies and moths. Other small animals including birds and lizards are also taken. It usually hunts from a perch at the forest edge.

Breeding

Both adults build the nest on a branch in a deciduous tree. The clutch consists of 3-6 eggs (usually 5) which the female incubates for 14-16 days. The young fledge around two weeks later, staying close to the nest for a further two weeks.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Tiger Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tiger_Shrike

External Links

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