Lanius

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Lanius
Lanius excubitor.jpg
Great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) impaling a yellowhammer
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Lanius excubitor
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

Many, see text

Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call. [1]

Contents

Some African species are known as fiscals. That name comes from the Afrikaans word fiskaal ("public official", especially a hangman), because they hang their prey on thorns for storage.

Most Lanius species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but the Northern shrike is found in eastern Asia and North America, while the loggerhead shrike is confined to North America. There are no members of this genus or the shrike family in South America or Australia.

Lanius shrikes are birds of open habitats typically seen perched upright on a prominent perch like a treetop or a telephone pole. They sally out for prey, taken in flight or the ground. These species primarily take large insects, but will also take small birds, reptiles and mammals. For large northern species such as the great grey, the majority of the prey will be vertebrates, especially in winter.

Despite their diet, these are not true birds of prey, and lack the strong talons of the raptors. Though they use their feet to hold smaller insects, larger prey items are impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn or the barbs of barbed wire. Thus secured they can be ripped open with the hooked bill.

Most Lanius shrikes are solitary, except when breeding and are highly territorial. Northern or temperate species such as the great grey and red-backed shrikes are migratory and winter well south of the breeding range.

The sexes of most species are distinguishable, the male invariably being the brighter bird where there is a difference.

There are some natural groupings within the genus, such as the seven African fiscals, the large grey species (ludovicianus, excubitor, meridionalis and sphenocercus) and the Eurasian brown-backed species (tigrinus, bucephalus, collurio, isabellinus, cristatus and gubernator). In the last group in particular, it has been difficult to define species’ boundaries, and in the past several of these shrikes have been lumped as conspecific.

The prehistoric shrike Lanius miocaenus has been described from Early Miocene fossils found at Langy, France. [2]

Taxonomy and species list

The genus Lanius was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . [3] The type species was designated as the great grey shrike by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1824. [4] [5] The genus name is a Latin word meaning "butcher". [6]

The genus contains the following 32 species: [7]

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Yellow-billed shrike (Corvinella corvina corvina).jpg Yellow-billed shrike Lanius corvinuseast, central and west Africa
Urolestes melanoleucus -Limpopo, South Africa-8.jpg Magpie shrike Lanius melanoleucuscentral and east Africa
Long-tailed fiscal, Lanius cabanisi.jpg Long-tailed fiscal Lanius cabanisisouthern Somalia, southern and southeastern Kenya, from the shores of Lake Victoria to the coast; and northern and eastern Tanzania south to Dar es Salaam
Graumantelwurger Lanius excubitoroides.JPG Grey-backed fiscal Lanius excubitoroidesBurundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
Taita Fiscal (12560159893).jpg Taita fiscal Lanius dorsalissoutheastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania
Lanius excubitor, Chilham, Kent 1.jpg Great grey shrike Lanius excubitorEurasia and northern Africa
Somali Fiscal specimen RWD.jpg Somali fiscal Lanius somalicusDjibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, as well as in Kenya in the African Great Lakes region
Loggerhead Shrike florida RWD6.jpg Loggerhead shrike Lanius ludovicianussouthern Canada, the contiguous USA and Mexico
Giant grey shrike Lanius giganteuscentral China
Chinese Grey Shrike (15690680610).jpg Chinese grey shrike Lanius sphenocercusChina, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia
Sudlicher-Raubwurger 2018-01-07 0003.jpg Iberian grey shrike Lanius meridionalissouthern Europe
Northern Shrike (8128455040).jpg Northern shrike Lanius borealisNorth America and Siberia
Gabelek ner.jpg Masked shrike Lanius nubicussoutheastern Europe and at the eastern end of the Mediterranean
São Tomé fiscal Lanius newtoniSão Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe
Northern Fiscal RWD6.jpg Northern fiscal Lanius humeralisSub-Saharan Africa
Emin's shrike Lanius gubernatorCameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Uganda
Lanius mackinnoni 03.jpg Mackinnon's shrike Lanius mackinnoniWestern and Central Africa, including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
Souza's Shrike (Lanius souzae) (8077352625)~crop.jpg Souza's shrike Lanius souzaeAngola to Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia
Common fiscal (Lanius collaris subcoronatus).jpg Southern fiscal Lanius collarisSub-Saharan Africa
Lesser Grey Shrike by Daniel Bastaja.jpg Lesser grey shrike Lanius minorsouthern France, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and southern Russia
Lanius senator01 new.jpg Woodchat shrike Lanius senatorsouthern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East
Burmese Shrike.jpg Burmese shrike Lanius collurioidesBangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam
Tiger shrike (Lanius tigrinus), Hindhede Nature Park, Singapore - 20060921.jpg Tiger shrike Lanius tigrinusRussia, Japan and China
Bay-backed shrike (Lanius vittatus) Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg Bay-backed shrike Lanius vittatusAfghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and India
Lanius isabellinus1.jpg Isabelline shrike Lanius isabellinusMongolia and northern China ;
winters to southern Asia and Africa
Lanius collurio 1 (Martin Mecnarowski).jpg Red-backed shrike Lanius collurioWestern Europe east to central Russia
0T4A6719.jpg Red-tailed shrike Lanius phoenicuroidessouth Siberia and central Asia
Mountain Shrike.jpg
Mountain shrike Lanius validirostrisPhilippines
Lanius cristatus - Surin.jpg Brown shrike Lanius cristatusnorthern Asia from Mongolia to Siberia and in South Asia, Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula
Mozu1.JPG Bull-headed shrike Lanius bucephalusnortheast China, Korea, Japan and far-eastern Russia
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach- race tricolor) in Kolkata W IMG 3434.jpg Long-tailed shrike Lanius schachacross Asia from Kazakhstan to New Guinea
Grey-backed Shrike mettepitth laattoraa, (Lanius tephronotus).jpg Grey-backed shrike Lanius tephronotusBangladesh, India (Uttarakhand), Nepal, Bhutan, China (Yunnan)

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Lanius:

References

  1. "Shrike" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. Lefranc, Norbert; Worfolk, Tim (1997). Shrikes. London, UK: Pica Press. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-4081-3505-1.
  3. Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 93.
  4. Swainson, William (1824–1825). "An inquiry into the natural affinities of the Laniadae, or shrikes; preceded by some observations on the present state of ornithology in this country". Zoological Journal. 1 (3): 289–307 [294].
  5. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 342.
  6. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  219. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Shrikes, vireos, shrike-babblers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  8. "Coracornis sanghirensis - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  9. Australia, Atlas of Living. "Pachycephala (Alisterornis) rufiventris rufiventris | Atlas of Living Australia". bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  10. "Pitohui kirhocephalus - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  11. "Pycnonotus jocosus - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  12. "Alophoixus bres - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-05-15.