Gray-backed Fiscal
Lanius excubitoroides
Large, long-tailed gray, black, and white shrike. The male has completely white underparts, while the female can show a small rufous flank patch. Large white patches at the base of the tail are conspicuous in flight. In the eastern part of the range, found in woodland, savanna, and cultivation. In the west, found only in arid thorn savanna. Always in small and conspicuous groups. The vocalization is given in chorus by a group: a fast, jangling mixture of slurred calls. Distinguished from other black-masked, gray-backed shrikes by the black line connecting the black wing and black face-mask, and by the large white patches in the base of the tail.
Identification
This is a large shrike with a length of about 25 cm (10 in). The head of the male has a grey crown, a white supercilium and a large black mask. The upper parts are medium grey, the rump is white, the wings are blackish, with a white patch which is conspicuous in flight, and the long tail has a white base and a black tip. The underparts and base of the underside of the tail are white. The female is similar but has patches of chestnut on the flanks that are visible during display and when the bird is preening. The juvenile is brownish with brown wings and tail and is heavily barred with grey.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lanius excubitoroides
- Authority
- Prévost & des Murs, 1847
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Laniidae
- Genus
- Lanius
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The grey-backed fiscal is a sociable bird and is often found in wooded grassland, gardens and damp acacia scrub. It is often seen in pairs or small groups on tree stumps, wires and branches, engaged in wing fluttering, tail waving and noisy babble. It is a gregarious, cooperative breeder. Nests are built up to 10 m (33 ft) off the ground, near the trunk of the tree or on peripheral branches. The female builds the nest while the male may bring nesting materials and food for the female. A clutch of about four eggs is laid. Incubation is by the female and lasts about fourteen days, with the young remaining in the nest for a further twenty days.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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