Shrike for ID - West Bengal, India - Oct 2022 (1 Viewer)

[sbiswas.geo]

Wondering if this Brown Shrike could be the Japanese ssp (Lanius cristatus superciliosus)?

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

Wondering if this Brown Shrike could be the Japanese ssp (Lanius cristatus superciliosus)?

For me, the OP looks like a typical nominate cristatus, the combination of warmer, rufous-toned cap and rump/utc's, narrow white supercilium and apparent reduced warm tones to underparts are compelling. Japanese Brown ssp. superciliosus is typified by more uniform intense rufous-toned upperparts i.e with little or no contrast in head and rump, a broad white supercilum including forehead and more saturated warm buff underparts with a white throat.

Japanese Brown has by far the most restricted range of the 4 taxa (S Sakhalin, C & N Japan) appears to be in serious decline, in Japan at least, as a result of habitat loss.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/3af59fe224b175fe2fa6edf9bb73c30e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=13202#:~:text=One%20subspecies%2C%20L.,is%20currently%20unavailable%20in%20Japan.

Grahame

 

[sbiswas.geo]

For me, the OP looks like a typical nominate cristatus, the combination of warmer, rufous-toned cap and rump/utc's, narrow white supercilium and apparent reduced warm tones to underparts are compelling. Japanese Brown ssp. superciliosus is typified by more uniform intense rufous-toned upperparts i.e with little or no contrast in head and rump, a broad white supercilum including forehead and more saturated warm buff underparts with a white throat.

Japanese Brown has by far the most restricted range of the 4 taxa (S Sakhalin, C & N Japan) appears to be in serious decline, in Japan at least, as a result of habitat loss.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/3af59fe224b175fe2fa6edf9bb73c30e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=13202#:~:text=One%20subspecies%2C%20L.,is%20currently%20unavailable%20in%20Japan.

Grahame

Thanks Grahame. The Brown Shrikes I see in West Bengal are usually less rich in colour.