Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758

This typical shrike has a large head, stout hook-tipped bill and a longish black and rufous tail. With a broad black band across the eyes, its crown, nape, sides, hind-neck and upper back are grey, diffusing to rufous or cinnamon on the rest of the upper-parts. The chin, throat and upper- breast are white while the rest of the under-parts are rufous. Its wings are blackish with a white wing-spot conspicuous in flight. This bird inhabits deciduous openly wooded country - cultivation, orchards and groves. As a family, these birds are ‘pugnacious, bold and rapacious’. Often found singly or in widely separated pairs, this bird has its own feeding territory which it guards fiercely against others of its kind. It often grabs food from other birds, even bigger than itself, by bouncing on them bodily while on the ground, knocking them down and taking away their catch. It kills young sparrows, mice, lizards, frogs etc. by pouncing and smothering them on the ground and striking repeatedly on the head with its powerftil bill. Often only the brain eaten, the body is impaled on a thorn along with other surplus food. Turning and twisting in the air, this bird sometimes catches insects on the wing (moths, winged termites, etc.). Insects like crickets, locusts, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants and beetles are also eaten. This bird’s normal notes are harsh complaining cries as if in distress (like a squealing frog caught by a snake). In the breeding season it has a beautiftd, subdued musical song which can go on unbroken for 15 minutes or more at a stretch. It is a versatile mimic of other birds’ calls like those of Black Kite, Mynas,Sparrow, Swallow, Swift, Parakeet, Babblers and many more, and even squirrels and new-bom puppies. Breeding is usually in April-May and both parents take part in the entire process.

Length: 20–25 cm; weight: 50–53 g

Unknown

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1