- Lanius vittatus
Identification
17–19 cm (6¾-7½)
- Chestnut-brown above
- Grey crown and nape
- Small white wing patch
- Black mask through the eye
- Pale rump
- White underparts
- Buff flanks
- Long, white-edged black tail
- Dark grey bill and legs
Sexes similar
Juveniles paler versions of adults
Distribution
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and has recently been recorded from Sri Lanka(Citation needed).
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species, consisting of two subspecies[1]:
- L. v. vittatus:
- L. v. nargianus:
- South-eastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Pakistan
Habitat
Scrubby areas, open bushland, thorn forests and cultivation.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists almost entirely of insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps, bees and ants. They will also take lizards, small birds and rodents.
Breeding
Three to five eggs are laid.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Yosef, R., International Shrike Working Group & de Juana, E. (2020). Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus). 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/60476 on 14 March 2020)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Bay-backed Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bay-backed_Shrike
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
