Common Woodshrike
Tephrodornis pondicerianus
A medium-sized woodshrike with grayish-brown upperparts, black facial mask, white rump, and gray tail with white outer tail feathers. Bill strongly hooked, dark grayish-brown in color. Underparts white. Similar to Malabar Woodshrike and Large Woodshrike, but generally found in drier forests; also note prominent white supercilium. Usually found in dry forested areas and shrublands. Bright, fast-paced song starts out with two strident “wheeet” notes, followed by a descending series of shorter notes. Calls vary, but usually sound like isolated fragments of song.
Identification
The common woodshrike is dully ashy brown and like other woodshrikes has a large head with a strong hooked beak. They have a broad creamy brow above a dark cheek patch and white outer tail feathers contrasting with their dark tail. Young birds have streaks and spot on the crown and white spots on the mantle. The underside is also streaked and the breast is heavily marked in young birds. The northern race pallidus is pale brown above and has brown rather than black central rectrices.
Taxonomy
The common woodshrike was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa pondiceriana. Gmelin based his description on the "Le gobe-mouches de Pondichéry" that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat. The type locality was restricted from Pondicherry to Chennai by Claud Ticehurst in 1921. The common woodshrike is now one of four species placed in the genus Tephrodornis that was introduced in 1832 by the English naturalist William Swainson. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek tephōdēs meaning "like ashes" or "ash-coloured" with ornis meaning "bird".<p>Three subspecies are recognised:<p>The Sri Lanka woodshrike (Tephrodornis affinis) was formerly treated as a subspecies. It was promoted to full species status based on its distinct plumage as well as its calls. Unlike the common woodshrike, the Sri Lanka woodshrike displays strong sexual dimorphism.
- Scientific name
- Tephrodornis pondicerianus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tephrodornithidae
- Genus
- Tephrodornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Usually found in pairs, they have a loud whistling song made of several notes. The usual call is a plaintive weet-weet followed by a series of quick whi-whi-whi-whee?. They have a loud song consisting of several rapid whistling notes. They feed on mainly on insects and sometimes berries by gleaning mostly along branches and leaves within trees but sometimes also make aerial sallies or descend to the ground. They have a habit of adjusting their wings, raising them over the tail shortly after alighting on a perch. They nest in summer before the rainy season, building a cup nest on a bare fork. The nest is made of fibres and bark held by cobwebs and covered with bits of bark and lichen. It is lined with silky plant fibres. Three eggs are the usual clutch. Both parents incubate but it is thought that only the female feeds the young. Young birds are fed on insects and berries. Two broods may be raised in some years.<p>A species of Haemoproteus was described from a Goan specimen of this species as Haemoproteus tephrodornis by Froilano de Mello in 1935. A spirurid nematode Oxyspirura alii was described and named after S. Mehdi Ali and obtained from within the eye cavity of a common woodshrike specimen from Hyderabad. Ticks of the species Haemaphysalis bispinosa and H. intermedia have been recorded on the species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Plumbeous Seedeater
Sporophila plumbea
A small finchlike species with a short and stubby bill. Males are mostly gray with a white chin and central belly with white spots on the wings. Females are olive-brown above and buff below, and lack the white wing spot. Inhabits tall mature grasslands, often near water; often forms flocks with other seedaters.
Black-faced Grosbeak
Caryothraustes poliogaster
Rather chunky, social bird of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands and foothills. Usually in small and often noisy groups (at times up to 50 birds), moving at middle to upper levels in fruiting trees; not usually with mixed-species feeding flocks. Sexes look alike, with subtly attractive plumage: mustard-yellow head and breast with black face and blue-gray belly. Calls are buzzy splutters and whistles.
Collared Towhee
Pipilo ocai
Large, brightly patterned sparrow endemic to highlands in south-central Mexico. Found in brushy understory, flower banks, and overgrown fields in pine-oak and pine-evergreen forest. Rather skulking, but often feeds along field edges or quiet roadsides, especially early and late in the day; sings from bushes and low trees, but often quite hidden. Note the boldly striped head, rusty cap, and bright white throat contrasting with a broad black collar. Varied calls and songs are often loud, unlike high-pitched vocalizations of rather similar Chestnut-capped Brushfinch.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.