Bird Guide

Taita Fiscal vs Tiger Shrike

Taita Fiscal (Lanius dorsalis)

Taita Fiscal

Lanius dorsalis

Small50 gShrubland

This is a fairly distinctive 21 cm (8.3 in)-long passerine with white underparts and a black crown, hindneck and wings. The back is grey with a characteristic white 'V' and the rump is white. The tail is relatively long and black with white outer feathers. There is a small white patch on the wings. The bill, eyes and legs are black. The adult male and female Taita fiscal have similar plumage except for a rufous lower flank of the female which is usually hidden by the wing. The juvenile is mainly brown–black above, with barring on the head and buff tips to the shoulder feathers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sri Srikumar · CC0
Tiger Shrike (Lanius tigrinus)

Tiger Shrike

Lanius tigrinus

Small30 gWoodland

It is a fairly small, stocky shrike, 17–19 cm long. Males weigh 27-29 grams and have a wing length of 77.8-83.9 mm, a tail length of 66.9-75.0 mm and a bill length of 14.1-15.9 mm. Females weigh 29-37 grams and have a wing length of 79.5-85.3 mm, a tail length of 66.3-79.1 mm and a bill length of 14.8-16.7 mm. The thick bill is blue-black with a black tip and the legs are grey-black. The adult male's back, rump and shoulders are reddish-brown with blackish bars creating a tiger-like pattern. It has a black forehead and mask and grey crown and nape. Voice: Its song is a musical warbling. It has a variety of harsh calls including a loud, repeated territorial call, a chattering alarm call and a softer trilling call. It often calls from within cover but territorial males call from a prominent perch.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Kim, Hyun-tae, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kim, Hyun-tae · cc-by

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Taita Fiscal and Tiger Shrike.