- Lanius bucephalus
Identification
19-20 cm
Male
- Grey brown back
- White, finely barred underparts
- Dark wings with white patch
- Rufous flanks
- Brown crown
- White eyebrow
- Black mask
Female duller, browner
- Brown mask
- Lacks white wing patch
Distribution
Asia: found in Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species consisting of two subspecies[1]:
- L. b. bucephalus:
- L. b. sicarius:
- West-central China (Tao Valley of south-western Gansu)
Habitat
Farmland, forests, woodland edges, wetlands, urban parks and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes lizards and larger insects such as beetles and crickets, small vertebrates and crustaceans.
Breeding
It builds its nest among bushes or bamboo. The clutch consists of 2-6 eggs which are incubated for 14-15 days; the young fledge after 14 days.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Wikipedia contributors. (2018, February 14). Bull-headed shrike. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:37, April 3, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bull-headed_shrike&oldid=825671385
- BirdForum Member observations
- Yosef, R. & International Shrike Working Group (2019). Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60469 on 30 March 2019).
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Bull-headed Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bull-headed_Shrike
