Southern grey shrike

Southern grey shrike
In Oman
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Species: L. meridionalis
Binomial name
Lanius meridionalis
(Temminck, 1820)

The southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) is a member of the shrike family. The plumage is generally similar to great grey shrike apart from the differences noted below. It is closely related to the great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor, with which it used to be considered conspecific; where they co-occur, they do not interbreed and are separated by choice of habitat.[1]

Taxonomy and systematics

The race L. m. meridionalis is resident in southern Europe and north Africa. It is slightly smaller and darker than the great grey shrike, and prefers dry open country.

The race L. m. pallidirostis breeds in central Asia and winters in the tropics. It is much paler than southern grey or great grey, and is sometimes split as a separate species, the steppe grey shrike, L. pallidirostis. It too prefers more arid habitat with sparse vegetation.

Behaviour and ecology

Eggs of Lanius meridionalis - MHNT

This medium-sized passerine bird eats large insects, small birds and rodents. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".

The migratory eastern form is a scarce vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain, usually in autumn.

References

  1. ↑ Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J. & Parkin, David T. (2002): Taxonomic recommendations for European birds. Ibis 144(1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x PDF fulltext

Bibliography

Identification

External links

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