Bay-backed Shrike - BirdForum Opus

Photo by dineshagg
Bharatpur, India, December 2005

Lanius vittatus

Identification

17cm

• 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
  

Juvenile
Photo by Shantilal Varu
Kutch, Gujarat, India, October 2011

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:

• Pakistan (Indus Plains) to western Bengal and southern India (except for south-west)

• L. v. nargianus:

• South-eastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Pakistan

Habitat

Scrubby areas, open bushland, thorn forests and cultivation.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents.

Breeding

Three to five eggs are laid.

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

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Bay-backed Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bay-backed_Shrike

External Links

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