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
- Vangidae
- Genus
- Tephrodornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
Hemipus picatus
A small passerine bird with black-and-white plumage. The head, upperparts, and tail are black. The sides of the neck and underparts are white. The wing shows a prominent white slash, and the outer tail feathers are white. The bill is black and the upper mandible is hooked at the tip. Usually found in mixed-species foraging flocks, feeding on insects in the mid-canopy by hawking prey in mid-air like flycatchers, hence the name. Inhabits a wide range of forested habitats. Song is a sweet-sounding series of bouncing notes: “tsilikee-tsilikee-tsilikee!”
Crossley's Vanga
Mystacornis crossleyi
Brown-backed, babbler-like vanga of the forest understory. Male has a black hood, and female a white throat. Endemic to Madagascar, in eastern rainforest at low and middle elevations. Shy and elusive bird that walks along the forest floor and through thick tangles. Song is a long, penetrating whistle given from a low perch. Coloration and habits make it distinctive.
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