Long-tailed Shrike

Long-tailed Shrike

               Introduction of Long-tailed Shrike

         The long-tailed shrike (Scientific Name :Lanius schach) is a member of the  Laniidae family,

                    How to identify Long-tailed Shrike

         Length of Long-tailed Shrike is 23-27 cm and weight is around 50-53 gm. Head is grey with black mask covering forehead, eyes and ear coverts.  Color of  back and rump is of chestnut . Mantle is also grey colored.  There is small white  patches on blakish wings. As the name suggests, it has a  long tail which is black and graduated. Outer feathers of tail are rufous and undertail is greyish. Underparts are whitish and  side of breast  and flanks are of chestnut color.  Bill is blackish, strong and hooked at tip. Eyes are brown. Legs and feet are grey. Both male and female looks alike. Young bird is duller than adult, with streaked body sides.

                      Habits and Habitats

         Long-tailed Shrike are frequently found in open areas, lightly wooded countries, scrubby areas and in cultivated land. This bird is often seen alone and can be very aggressive towards birds of its own species. Most of the birds  are resident, but it has been observed that after breeding season   birds of northern region ,migrate towards more temperate zone.
Long-tailed Shrike is highly territorial, they defend their nesting-site vigorously. Flight of Long-tailed Shrike is undulating  but its dash is straight and steady.
            Distribution
         Long-tailed Shrikes are common resident bird which is distributed in  Afghanistan , Kazakhstan, India to New Guinea and  from Central Asia to Southern Asia . 
It has some subspecies and there are distinct differences in plumage among the subspecies. But all the subspecies have a long and narrow black tail, black mask and forehead, rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder.
        We can find subspecies living in other places and showing different colors.
   Lanius schach Erythronotus lives in central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It is smaller and duller, and with narrower black band on forehead.
   Lanius schach Caniceps lives in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is paler with less rufous above.
   Lanius schach Tricolor from Himalayan regions has black head, smaller greyish area on back and deep rufous upperparts.
  Lanius schach Longicaudatus lives in Thailand and has very long tail.
              Food
       Long-tailed Shrike feeds mainly on wide variety of large insects  taken on the ground but sometimes also captures flying insects in the air.  Wide variety of animal prey like bird, bird's egg, fish, lizard, amphibians, crab etc. or any small living animal are also in their food list.  It also consume fruits.  It sometimes impales  preys on a sharp point like a thorn after feeding just on the head or brain.  It sometimes  steal  prey from other birds also. 
             Call
       Call of Long-tailed Shrikes is  melodious, and the birds are capable  to perform mimicry the calls of many species like lapwings, cuckoos, and squirrels. 
Its alarm call is raucous and sharp “guerlek-guerlek”, followed by some barks “yaou-yaou”.

                       Nesting and Breeding

       Long-tailed Shrikes are monogamous. Their breeding season differs according to their geographical areas. During courtship period, male pursues rivals and is very quarrelsome and  vocal during pair formation. Both the male and female Long-tailed Shrike together build their  nest with twigs, roots, rags, hair and stems at about 3 to 12 metres above the ground  in tree or in thorny bush. Nest is a bulky, deep cup and  is lined with fine grass and rootlets.
The usual clutch is about 3 to 6 eggs which are incubated by both parents. Incubation period is about 13 to 16 days. Young birds fledge about 14 to 19 days after hatching. They remain in parental territory for one or two months more.
Long-tailed Shrike’s nest is often parasitized by Cuckoos, Common hawk-cuckoo, Jacobin cuckoo and the Asian koel