• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Kuwait - shrikes (1 Viewer)

opisska

rabid twitcher
Czech Republic
Since IOC recognizes the Red-tailed (or Turkestan) Shrike as split from Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike, we tried to hunt for some. There is an extensive paper about the identification of these shrikes - see https://www.dutchbirding.nl/journal/pdf/DB_2000_22_6.pdf from which I understand that most shrikes we saw in Kuwait were Daurian ssp. arenarius - the obvious interruption of the dark mask with the paler lores makes their identification rather clear.

However the same material shows that just seeing the whole mask isn't enough, because that could mean both phoenicuroides (Turkestan) and isabellinus (Daurian) and both can be present in Kuwait. As birds 1 and 2 I present the best "black-masked" shrikes we found in Kuwait. In particular if 1 isn't a Turkestan, I would consider the recent reports of this species from Jahra pools dubious, because I think we essentially studied all the shrikes in the reserve, some of them repeatedly. The second bird is less prominent and from afar.

The last bird is just puzzling in a different way - is it a particularly rufous Red-backed juvenile?
 

Attachments

  • tuhyk1.jpg
    tuhyk1.jpg
    88.9 KB · Views: 76
  • tuhyk2.jpg
    tuhyk2.jpg
    66.5 KB · Views: 74
  • tuhyk3.jpg
    tuhyk3.jpg
    167.5 KB · Views: 81
Shrike id

Hi opisska,
#3 does not look like a RBS and is probably a recently fledged bird. What month was this photographed?
 
The first two are male Isabelline Shrikes which is what the vast majority of birds wintering in the Gulf region are generally considered to be, while the majority of arenarius should winter in Pakistan and N India.

Grahame
 
Last edited:
The first two are male Isabelline Shrikes which is what the vast majority of birds wintering in the Gulf region are generally considered to be, while the majority of arenarius should winter in Pakistan and N India.

Grahame

So you say that the map on page 4 in the linked paper is wrong? Because this map claims that in Kuwait and Iranian shores of the Gulf, arenarius is the dominant ssp., while isabellinus winters in UAE and Oman. Anyway also our experience from Kuwait is different, these two birds shown here are highly exceptional among dozens of birds that look very different (with pale lores).

This is however not that important because isabellinus and arenarius are still the same species.
 
So you say that the map on page 4 in the linked paper is wrong? Because this map claims that in Kuwait and Iranian shores of the Gulf, arenarius is the dominant ssp., while isabellinus winters in UAE and Oman. Anyway also our experience from Kuwait is different, these two birds shown here are highly exceptional among dozens of birds that look very different (with pale lores).

This is however not that important because isabellinus and arenarius are still the same species.

In answer to your question No. i should have checked my facts more thoroughly, still half asleep, but no excuse.

Grahame
 
No problem, just wanted to know how things are. Anyway, if these are indeed isabellinus, we failed to find the Turkestan shrike :(
 
Hi all,
agree no 3 is certainly very enigmatic.
The only other alternative I can think of is that the bird has been trapped. The trappers often grab the tail, with the tail-feathers being so easily ejected in shrikes and hypocolius. The tail often quickly regrows in full alignment like in this bird. Having said this It still looks like a fledgling but this may be illusory. RBS used to be so common in Kuwait in season, but I would expect RBS to be very strongly vermiculated.
 
Hi all,
agree no 3 is certainly very enigmatic.
The only other alternative I can think of is that the bird has been trapped. The trappers often grab the tail, with the tail-feathers being so easily ejected in shrikes and hypocolius. The tail often quickly regrows in full alignment like in this bird. Having said this It still looks like a fledgling but this may be illusory. RBS used to be so common in Kuwait in season, but I would expect RBS to be very strongly vermiculated.

In this context, I think it is interesting to note that two mist nets were erected nearby with a handful of white-eared bulbuls already in an adjacent cage.
 
I am sorry to bump my own topic, but my friends are trying to convince me that the first bird has to be Turkestan because of the white supercillium at least. not to distrust Grahame, but would anyone have any more opinions so that I can put this to rest? Thanks!
 
Nort relevant to this post but it gives me some comfort that I'm not the only one falling half asleep sometimes, :)

JanJ
 
I contacted Tim Worflolk, the author of the 2000 paper and an authority on shrikes. He sees all our interesting shrike (we found one more since) as Isabellinus and notes that Arenarius is probably not present also and the maps in the old paper are now outdated and the taxonomy of ssps is changed since.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top