Masked Shrike
Encyclopedia
The Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, is a member of the shrike
family Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe
and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in western Iran
. It is a common species in Turkey
, Cyprus
, Israel
and Syria
. It is migratory
, wintering in northeast Africa
.
Since this is a short-range migrant, a bird in Scotland
in October 2004 was a remarkable example of vagrancy, though a second British record occurred on St. Mary's
in the Isles of Scilly
in November 2006.
Masked Shrike breeds in open woodland and cultivated country. The nest is built in a tree and 4-7 eggs are laid.
The male Masked Shrike is a striking bird, with black and white plumage and orange flanks. This medium-sized passerine
is the smallest shrike at 17-18cm in length. Its upperparts, crown, long tail and wings are mainly black; there are large white patches on the wings which are conspicuous in flight. The face is white except for a broad black line running back from the eye. The rest of the underparts are white with orange flanks.
In the female and young birds the upperparts are dark grey rather than black, and the orange flanks are less bright and reduced in extent. The juvenile has heavily vermiculated
grey upperparts, and white underparts which are also vermiculated.
Masked Shrike eats large insects, small birds, vole
s and lizard
s which it impales on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder". It sometimes hunts from prominent perches, like other shrikes, but as often from semi-cover.
The song is a somewhat jagged warble.
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
family Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in western Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It is a common species in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. It is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering in northeast Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Since this is a short-range migrant, a bird in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in October 2004 was a remarkable example of vagrancy, though a second British record occurred on St. Mary's
St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly
St Mary's is the largest island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom.-Description:...
in the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
in November 2006.
Masked Shrike breeds in open woodland and cultivated country. The nest is built in a tree and 4-7 eggs are laid.
The male Masked Shrike is a striking bird, with black and white plumage and orange flanks. This medium-sized passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
is the smallest shrike at 17-18cm in length. Its upperparts, crown, long tail and wings are mainly black; there are large white patches on the wings which are conspicuous in flight. The face is white except for a broad black line running back from the eye. The rest of the underparts are white with orange flanks.
In the female and young birds the upperparts are dark grey rather than black, and the orange flanks are less bright and reduced in extent. The juvenile has heavily vermiculated
Vermiculated
Vermiculated means covered with a dense but irregular pattern of lines, as though made by worm-tracks; the word derives frrom the Latin for worm...
grey upperparts, and white underparts which are also vermiculated.
Masked Shrike eats large insects, small birds, vole
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
s and lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s which it impales on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder". It sometimes hunts from prominent perches, like other shrikes, but as often from semi-cover.
The song is a somewhat jagged warble.
Cultural references
- In the 1963 movie The Great EscapeThe Great Escape (film)The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
, a P.O.W. named Colin (Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
) teaches bird identification lessons. In the scene, there is a drawing of a masked shrike on a blackboard, which Colin describes as "the butcherbird", plumed in "uniform black above, from head to tail". At this point a black-clad prison camp guard is seen entering. Colin continues his description, describing the behaviour of the bird as "unlovable". The guard comments that he has "better things to do than draw birds", after which Colin continues that the Shrike's voice "is a monotonous succession of scratchy, complaining notes."