shrike

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shrike
Gray-coated shrike (Lanius excubitoroides)

Gray-coated shrike ( Lanius excubitoroides )

Systematics
Subclass : New-jawed birds (Neognathae)
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
without rank: Eupasseres
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Corvoidea
Family : shrike
Scientific name
Laniidae
Rafinesque , 1815

The Würger (Laniidae) are a bird family of the order of perching birds (Passeriformes). Sometimes more families are included here yet, the bushshrike (Malaconotidae) Vangawürger (Vangidae) Wattle (Platysteiridae) helmetshrike (Prionopidae) and warts heads (Pityriasidae).

The family consists of two to four genera and about 30 species , depending on the boundary .

description

The shrike are small to medium-sized birds. Most of the species are 16 to 25 centimeters long, only the species of the Corvinella genus reach up to 50 centimeters in length with their extremely elongated tail feathers. The shrike often have a conspicuously contrasting colored plumage, whereby the colors black, white, gray and red-brown predominate. The slightly curved beak with a hooked tip (the so-called "strangler tooth") is adapted to their predatory way of life .

Naming

The stranglers excrete the indigestible remains of eaten prey (hair, bones, feathers, chitin parts of insects) in the form of small spits ( bulges ), from which their name is derived. In addition to this meaning (vaulting are also birds of prey , owls, etc.), the way of life, which is relatively unusual for a relatively small songbird , also comes into consideration (from the Grimm dictionary : "because it chokes young brood birds"; Brockhaus 1911 : "Eat insects and small vertebrates, some of which they jam in stock in branch forks or impale them on sharp thorns "; Pierer 1857 :" They are the robbers among the songbirds ..., quarrelsome and murderous, courageous "). Here, choking is understood in the sense of “strangling” and “killing”.

distribution

Most of the species in the family colonize Africa , Asia and Europe . Central and East Africa and the Middle East are particularly rich in species . In addition, New Guinea and large parts of North America are each populated by two species. Most of the European species are migratory birds that overwinter in Africa. Only the northern gray shrike ( Lanius excubitor ) winters as a short-distance or partial migrant in the central and southern parts of Europe.

habitat

The shrike prefer open landscapes with at least some trees or bushes , from bushland , savannah, and tropical grasslands to open forests , forest edges, and forest clearings. Some species are also found in desert areas or on the tundra . Many species inhabit cultivated land , especially orchards. Locations, on the other hand, are avoided by almost all species.

nutrition

The diet consists of insects , young birds and small mammals . The prey is often slain and the rest that cannot be eaten straight away is speared on the thorns of individual bushes or clamped in forks.

Systematics

Web links

Commons : Würger  - collection of images, videos and audio files