Zahoor-Salmi
The Brown Shrike
The Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely-related Red-backed Shrike, L. collurio, and Isabelline Shrike, L. isabellinus. Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye. and is found mainly in open scrub habitats, where it perches on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. Several populations of this widespread species form distinctive subspecies which breed in temperate Asia and migrate to their winter quarters in tropical Asia. They are sometimes found as vagrants in Europe and North America
This shrike is mainly brown on the upper parts and the tail is rounded. The black mask can be paler in winter and has a white brow over it. The underside is creamy with rufous flanks and belly. The wings are brown and lack any white mirror patches. Females have fine scalloping on the underside and the mask is dark brown and not as well marked as in the male. Subspecies lucionensis has a grey crown shading into the brown upperparts and the rump appears more rufous than the rest of the upperback.[2]
A number of confusing forms are known from central Asia where the populations of cristatus, isabellinus and collurio overlap.[3]
The nominate form breeds in northern Asia from Mongolia to Siberia and winters in South Asia, Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula. The race confusus described from the same region is not well marked but is said to have a wider white brow and paler upperparts and is sometimes included within the nominate population. Subspecies superciliosus (sometimes called the Japanese Shrike) breeds on the islands of Sakhalin, Kuril and Japan and winters in Hainan, Sumatra, Java, and the Sundas. Subspecies lucionensis, sometimes known as the Philippine Shrike, breeds in Korea and eastern China wintering mainly in Taiwan, Philippines but also on the Andaman Islands and in peninsular India.[2][4][5][6]
This species is rare in Europe and vagrants have been recorded in the USA and Canada
The Brown Shrike
The Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely-related Red-backed Shrike, L. collurio, and Isabelline Shrike, L. isabellinus. Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye. and is found mainly in open scrub habitats, where it perches on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. Several populations of this widespread species form distinctive subspecies which breed in temperate Asia and migrate to their winter quarters in tropical Asia. They are sometimes found as vagrants in Europe and North America
This shrike is mainly brown on the upper parts and the tail is rounded. The black mask can be paler in winter and has a white brow over it. The underside is creamy with rufous flanks and belly. The wings are brown and lack any white mirror patches. Females have fine scalloping on the underside and the mask is dark brown and not as well marked as in the male. Subspecies lucionensis has a grey crown shading into the brown upperparts and the rump appears more rufous than the rest of the upperback.[2]
A number of confusing forms are known from central Asia where the populations of cristatus, isabellinus and collurio overlap.[3]
The nominate form breeds in northern Asia from Mongolia to Siberia and winters in South Asia, Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula. The race confusus described from the same region is not well marked but is said to have a wider white brow and paler upperparts and is sometimes included within the nominate population. Subspecies superciliosus (sometimes called the Japanese Shrike) breeds on the islands of Sakhalin, Kuril and Japan and winters in Hainan, Sumatra, Java, and the Sundas. Subspecies lucionensis, sometimes known as the Philippine Shrike, breeds in Korea and eastern China wintering mainly in Taiwan, Philippines but also on the Andaman Islands and in peninsular India.[2][4][5][6]
This species is rare in Europe and vagrants have been recorded in the USA and Canada