Somali fiscal

Last updated

Somali fiscal
Somali Fiscal specimen RWD.jpg
Specimen at Nairobi National Museum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Species:
L. somalicus
Binomial name
Lanius somalicus
Hartlaub & Heuglin, 1859

The Somali fiscal (Lanius somalicus) is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. Other common names include the Karoli fiscal, the Somali fiscal shrike and the Somali shrike. [2] The bird is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, as well as in Kenya in the African Great Lakes region. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. [1]

Contents

Distribution and habitat

The Somali fiscal Is found in East Africa, its range including much of Somalia, southern Djibouti, eastern and southern Ethiopia, southeastern South Sudan and northern Kenya. It is mainly found in open grassy habitats and semi-desert areas with some scrub. Where its range overlaps that of the Taita fiscal (Lanius dorsalis), that bird usually inhabits more densely-vegetated and less arid habitats. [3]

Ecology

Like other shrikes, the Somali fiscal perches in a position where it has a good view all round and pounces on any suitable prey it observes. It feeds mostly on large insects such as grasshoppers, mantises and beetles. Prey is sometimes impaled on thorns for consumption later, and small birds have sometimes been found in these larders. During the breeding season, it will defend the area around its nest, being prepared to attack any bird that ventures near up to the size of a raven. Breeding usually takes place in the rainy season. The nest is usually in a bush, some 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft) above the ground, with a clutch of four, or sometimes three, eggs being laid. Little is known of incubation and fledging times. [3]

Status

The Somali fiscal has a wide range and is reported to be common in places. The population trend appears to be steady so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the species as being of "least concern". [1]

Related Research Articles

<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">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">Lesser grey shrike</span> Species of bird

The lesser grey shrike 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.

<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">Yellow-billed shrike</span> Species of bird

The yellow-billed shrike is a large passerine bird in the shrike family. It is sometimes known as the long-tailed shrike, but this is to be discouraged, since it invites confusion with the long-tailed shrike, Lanius schach, of tropical southern Asia. The yellow-billed shrike is a common resident breeding bird in tropical Africa from Senegal eastwards to Uganda and locally in westernmost Kenya. It frequents forest and other habitats with trees.

<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 fiscal</span> Species of bird

The southern fiscal or fiscal shrike is a member of the shrike family found through most of southern Africa. It is also sometimes named jackie hangman or butcher bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption. It was previously lumped together with the northern fiscal. Together they were known as the common fiscal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater kestrel</span> Species of bird

The greater kestrel or white-eyed kestrel, is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is one of the largest kestrels and is found in open country in southern and eastern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardinal woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The cardinal woodpecker is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dense forest to thorn bush. It is fairly vocal and is easily identified by its call notes. The sexes are distinguishable by their head patterns.

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

The Taita fiscal or Teita fiscal is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa from southeastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland.

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

The tropical boubou or bell shrike is a medium-sized passerine bird of sub-Saharan Africa. This very diverse "species" with its numerous subspecies and morphs has since long posed a taxonomic problem, and recent research suggests it is a cryptic species complex that has now been split into several species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The African cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildebrandt's starling</span> Species of bird

Hildebrandt's starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It forms a superspecies with and has previously been included in the same species as Shelley's starling, a migratory species ranging from Ethiopia and Somalia to Kenya. Both of these species have also been combined into a superspecies with the chestnut-bellied starling of West Africa. It was originally placed in the now defunct genus Notauges. The species is named for Johann Maria Hildebrandt, a German collector who was the first European to obtain specimens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinspot batis</span> Species of bird

The chinspot batis is a small songbird of the genus Batis in the family Platysteiridae which is a common and widespread species in the woodlands of southern Africa from the Eastern Cape north to 3°N in southern Kenya and Gabon. It forms a superspecies with other rather similar members of the genus Batis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern white-crowned shrike</span> African species of bird

The southern white-crowned shrike is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savannah.

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

The long-tailed fiscal is a species of bird in the shrike family Laniidae. The species is closely related to the more widespread grey-backed fiscal and is sometimes placed in a separate subgenus, Neolanius, with that species. It is found in southern Somalia, southern and south-eastern Kenya, from the shores of Lake Victoria to the coast; and northern and eastern Tanzania south to Dar es Salaam, with a separate population at Usanga Flats. Its natural habitat is open dry habitats such as dry, treeless savanna, open woodland and cultivated patches.

<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">Grey-backed shrike</span> Species of bird

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

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

The magpie shrike, also known as the African long-tailed shrike, is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is native to the grasslands of eastern and southeastern Africa, where its natural habitats are dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It has a very wide range and is common in places, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2016). "Lanius somalicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22705066A93999126. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705066A93999126.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Lepage, Dennis. "Somali Fiscal (Lanius somalicus) Hartlaub, 1859". Avibase. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  3. 1 2 Norbert Lefranc; Tim Worfolk (2013). Shrikes. A&C Black. p. 152. ISBN   978-1-4081-8756-2.