Lesser grey shrike

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Lesser grey shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike by Daniel Bastaja.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Species:
L. minor
Binomial name
Lanius minor
Gmelin, 1788
LaniusMinorIUCN.svg
Range of L. minor
  Breeding
  Non-breeding

The lesser grey shrike (Lanius minor) is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It breeds in South and Central Europe and western Asia in the summer and migrates to winter quarters in southern Africa in the early autumn, returning in spring. It is a scarce vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain, usually as a spring or autumn erratic.

Contents

It is similar in appearance to the great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) and the Iberian grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis); both sexes are predominantly black, white and grey, and males have pink-flushed underparts. It is slightly smaller than the great grey shrike, and has a black forehead and relatively longer wings. This species prefers dry open lowlands and is often seen on telephone wires.

This medium-sized passerine eats large insects, especially beetles, butterflies, moths and grasshoppers. Lesser grey shrikes frequently hover when hunting on their breeding grounds, but do not do so while moulting on non-breeding grounds. Like other shrikes, it hunts from prominent perches and sometimes impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".

Taxonomy

The lesser grey shrike was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name Lanius minor. [2] Gmelin based his description on the "Pie-grièche d'Italie" that had been described in 1770 by French polymath the Comte de Buffon and illustrated with a hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet. [3] [4] 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 specific minor is Latin for "smaller". [5] The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call. [6] The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [7]

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that within the genus Lanius the lesser grey shrike was sister to the woodchat shrike (Lanius senator), a migratory species that breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa. The two species diverged from each other around 3.9–5.0 million years ago. [8]

Description

The adult male lesser grey shrike has its nape, cheeks, ear and eye coverts and front part of the crown black. The hind part of the crown and the back is a pale bluish-grey and the rump is a similar but rather paler colour. The underparts are white with the lower breast and belly suffused with pink. The axillaries are greyish-white and the underwing coverts are brownish-black. The two central tail feathers are black with a white tip and base. The other pairs have increasing areas of white and less black. The primaries are black with a buff tip and white base. The secondaries are black with broader, paler tips but no white bases. The wing coverts are black with the lesser coverts being fringed with grey. The female has similar plumage but the head is dark grey rather than black, the ear coverts brownish-black, the upperparts a brownish-grey and the underparts less pink than the male. The juvenile is similar to the adults but is altogether more brown. It lacks the grey back and rump which are instead pale brown and faintly barred, and the underparts are white and cream without any pink. All birds have a brownish-black beak with a paler base to the lower mandible, brown irises and black legs and feet. [9] Adult length is around 20 cm (7.9 in) with a wing length of 13 cm (5.1 in) and a tarsus length of 2.5 cm (1 in). [10]

Distribution and habitat

The lesser grey shrike spends the summer in South and Central Europe and western Asia. It breeds in southern France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and southern Russia. In Asia it breeds in the Middle East, its range extending as far as eastern Turkey and Iran. It is a vagrant to more northerly parts of Europe, usually in spring or autumn. Countries where it has been seen include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium and northern France. It is a migratory species and winters in a broad belt across tropical southern Africa. [10]

During the summer the lesser grey shrike inhabits open countryside, the edges of cultivated areas, heathland with scattered bushes and trees, gardens, coppices, woodland and roadside trees. In its winter quarters it is usually found in scrubland and among thorn trees. [9]

Behaviour

Riyadh, KSA, Sept 1992

The lesser grey shrike hunts from a strategic post, wire or branch and primarily feeds on insects which it catches in the air or on the ground. The diet includes beetles, moths and butterflies, large flies, grasshoppers, crickets and millipedes. Some fruits such as cherries and figs are eaten to a limited extent. [9] The bird occasionally impales freshly caught prey on thorns for use later, but this is done to a much lesser extent than by some other shrike species. It has been shown experimentally that this species only creates a larder when it is satiated and that prey items are seldom plentiful enough for this to be the case. The male has been observed to feed the female before starting to create a food store. Repeated experimental exposure of birds to a food surplus significantly increases the rate at which they impale freshly caught prey. Other causal factors in the failure of this species to hoard may be a shortage of suitable caching sites and the fact that the bird lacks practice in storing food and this constrains its learning ability. [11]

The flight of the lesser grey shrike is low and somewhat undulating and it occasionally glides with extended wings. At the end of the flight it swoops upward to land on a new hunting perch. It then turns its head from side to side searching for prey. When on the ground it hops, but it normally only stays there for long enough to pick up an item of food. Like other shrikes, when excited it fans its tail and moves it up and down or from sided to side. It is pugnacious and will defend its nest with vigour and drive away larger birds. [9]

Breeding

Lanius minor Lanius minor MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.214. Szigetesch Hongrie Balsac.jpg
Lanius minor

The nest is often built in a roadside tree with good all-round visibility some 4 to 10 metres (13 to 33 ft) off the ground. It is built by both birds out of the stems of various flowering plants such as cudweed ( Gnaphalium ) and ( Filago ), and thyme ( Thymus ), and lined with whisps of wool, hairs, roots and feathers. There are five to seven eggs in the clutch, usually bluish green blotched with greenish-brown. Sometimes the background colour is cream or buff with pinkish-brown blotches. Their average size is 26.1 by 18.2 millimetres (1.03 in × 0.72 in). Incubation lasts about fifteen days and is chiefly done by the female though both parents take part. They both feed the young which are ready to leave the nest after about fourteen days. There is usually a single brood. [9]

Status

The lesser grey shrike has a world population estimated as being between two and a half and nine million individuals. These are spread out over a wide range and the IUCN, in its Red List of Threatened Species, lists the bird as being of "Least Concern". Though the number of birds may be decreasing slightly, this is not thought to be sufficient to raise the species to the more threatened "Vulnerable" category. [1]

In Europe the numbers of lesser grey shrikes has been dwindling and there are now thought to be three to five thousand breeding pairs. The diminution in numbers may be due to a series of wet summers leading to a dearth of insects. Another factor may be changes in agricultural practices with small enclosures with varying crops and patches of woodland being replaced by large fields. As a result, this bird has been listed as a threatened species in Annex I of the European Commission Birds Directive. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrike</span> Family of birds

Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great grey shrike</span> Species of bird

The great grey shrike is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike, the Chinese grey shrike and the American loggerhead shrike. Males and females are similar in plumage, pearly grey above with a black eye-mask and white underparts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-backed shrike</span> Species of bird

The red-backed shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of tropical Africa and southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodchat shrike</span> Species of bird

The woodchat shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It can be identified by its red-brown crown and nape. It is mainly insectivorous and favours open wooded areas with scattered trees such as orchards, particularly when there is bare or sandy ground. The woodchat shrike breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelline shrike</span> Species of bird

The isabelline shrike or Daurian shrike is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was previously considered conspecific with the red-backed shrike and red-tailed shrike. It is found in an extensive area between the Caspian Sea and north and central China southeast to the Qaidam Basin. Overwinters in Africa and Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern shrike</span> Species of bird

The northern shrike is a large songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to North America and Siberia. Long considered a subspecies of the great grey shrike, it was classified as a distinct species in 2017. Six subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed shrike</span> Species of bird

The long-tailed shrike or rufous-backed shrike is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes. They are found widely distributed across Asia and there are variations in plumage across the range. The species ranges across much of Asia, both on the mainland and the eastern archipelagos. The eastern or Himalayan subspecies, L. s. tricolor, is sometimes called the black-headed shrike. Although there are considerable differences in plumage among the subspecies, they all have a long and narrow black tail, have a black mask and forehead, rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder. It is considered to form a superspecies with the grey-backed shrike which breeds on the Tibetan Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loggerhead shrike</span> Species of bird

The loggerhead shrike is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike occurs north of its range, however it is also found in Siberia. It is nicknamed the butcherbird after its carnivorous tendencies, as it consumes prey such as insects, amphibians, lizards, small mammals and small birds, and some prey end up displayed and stored at a site, for example in a tree. Due to its small size and weak talons, this predatory bird relies on impaling its prey upon thorns or barbed wire for facilitated consumption. The numbers of loggerhead shrike have significantly decreased in recent years, especially in Midwestern, New England and Mid-Atlantic areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown shrike</span> Species of bird

The brown shrike is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the red-backed shrike and isabelline shrike. 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 specific cristatus is Latin for "crested", used in a broader sense than in English. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-tailed scrub robin</span> Species of bird

The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masked shrike</span> Migratory bird in the family Laniidae

The masked shrike is a species of bird in the shrike family, Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in eastern Iraq and western Iran. It is migratory, wintering mainly in northeast Africa. Although it is a short-range migrant, vagrants have occurred widely elsewhere, including northern and western Europe. It is the smallest member of its genus, long-tailed and with a hooked bill. The male has mainly black upperparts, with white on its crown, forehead and supercilium and large white patches on the shoulders and wings. The throat, neck sides and underparts are white, with orange flanks and breast. The female is a duller version of the male, with brownish black upperparts and a grey or buff tone to the shoulders and underparts. The juvenile has grey-brown upperparts with a paler forehead and barring from the head to rump, barred off-white underparts and brown wings аpart from the white primary patches. The species' calls are short and grating, but the song has melodic warbler-like components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay-backed shrike</span> Species of bird

The bay-backed shrike is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes, resident in South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger shrike</span> Species of bird

The tiger shrike or thick-billed shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is predatory, feeding on small animals. Its nest is built in a tree and three to six eggs are laid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern boubou</span> Species of bird

The southern boubou is a bushshrike. Though these passerine birds and their relations were once included with true shrikes in the Laniidae, they are not closely related to that family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern tchagra</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull-headed shrike</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-backed fiscal</span> Species of bird

The grey-backed fiscal is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uhehe fiscal</span> Subspecies of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-backed shrike</span> Species of bird

The grey-backed shrike is a bird in the family Laniidae inhabiting South-east Asia.

The mountain shrike or grey-capped shrike, is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Lanius minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22705038A87339356. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705038A87339356.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 308.
  3. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1770). Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale. p. 298.
  4. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 1. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 32.
  5. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 219, 256. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ↑ "Shrike" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  7. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Shrikes, vireos, shrike-babblers". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Fuchs, J.; Alström, P.; Yosef, R.; Olsson, U. (2019). "Miocene diversification of an open-habitat predatorial passerine radiation, the shrikes (Aves: Passeriformes: Laniidae)" (PDF). Zoologica Scripta. 48 (5): 571–588. doi:10.1111/zsc.12363. S2CID   202027002.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Witherby, H. F., ed. (1943). Handbook of British Birds, Volume 1: Crows to Firecrest. H. F. and G. Witherby Ltd. pp. 278–280.
  10. 1 2 Coward, T. A. (1941). The Birds of the British Isles and their Eggs. Frederick Warne & Co. p. 150.
  11. ↑ Valera, Francisco; Krištín, Anton; Hoi, Herbert (2001). "Why Does the Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) Seldom Store Food? Determinants of Impaling in an Uncommon Storing Species". Behaviour. 138 (11/12): 1421–1436. doi:10.1163/156853901317367672. JSTOR   4535901.
  12. ↑ "Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)". Wild Birds: Threatened bird species in Annex I. European Commission: Environment. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
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