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Shrikes (Laniidae)

Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) - HBW 13, p. 781

French: Pie-grièche schach German: Schachwürger Spanish: Alcaudón Schach
Other common names: Black-headed/Black-capped/Schach Shrike, Rufous-backed/Red-backed(!)/(Southern) Rufous-rumped Shrike; Large-nosed Shrike (nasutus); Dusky Shrike (melanistic variant “fuscatus”)

Taxonomy: Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758, “Canton area”, Guangdong, south-east China.
Closely allied with L. tephronotus, and formerly treated as conspecific, but differs in morphology; moreover, the two are largely sympatric and, although race lahulensis of L. tephronotus sometimes considered to represent a hybrid population between them, no definite proof of interbreeding. Mainland races tend to intergrade; intermediates between erythronotus and tricolor described as nigriceps. Other proposed races are formosae (described from Taiwan) and hainanus (from Hainan I), but both are considered inseparable from nomin.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758, “Canton area”, Guangdong, south-east China.
Closely allied with L. tephronotus, and formerly treated as conspecific, but differs in morphology; moreover, the two are largely sympatric and, although race lahulensis of L. tephronotus sometimes considered to represent a hybrid population between them, no definite proof of interbreeding. Mainland races tend to intergrade; intermediates between erythronotus and tricolor described as nigriceps. Other proposed races are formosae (described from Taiwan) and hainanus (from Hainan I), but both are considered inseparable from nominate; name fuscatus, given to melanistic birds from SE China and Hainan, has no taxonomic significance. Nine subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • erythronotus (Vigors, 1831) - breeds SE Kazakhstan, S Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, S Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan (except SW) E to N & NC India; probably also NE Iran.
  • caniceps Blyth, 1846 - NC & peninsular India and N Sri Lanka.
  • tricolor Hodgson, 1837 - Nepal and E India E to Myanmar, S China (S Xizang, Yunnan), N Laos and N Thailand.

     See all 9 subspecies
  • erythronotus (Vigors, 1831) - breeds SE Kazakhstan, S Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, S Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan (except SW) E to N & NC India; probably also NE Iran.
  • caniceps Blyth, 1846 - NC & peninsular India and N Sri Lanka.
  • tricolor Hodgson, 1837 - Nepal and E India E to Myanmar, S China (S Xizang, Yunnan), N Laos and N Thailand.
  • schach Linnaeus, 1758 - C, S & SE China (including Hainan), Taiwan and N Vietnam (Tonkin and Annam).
  • longicaudatus Ogilvie-Grant, 1902 - C, SE & S Thailand and S Laos, possibly also S Myanmar (Tenasserim).
  • bentet Horsfield, 1821 - S Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, SE Borneo and Lesser Sunda Is (E to Timor).
  • nasutus Scopoli, 1786 - Philippines (except Palawan and Sulu Is).
  • suluensis (Mearns, 1905) - Sulu Archipelago (Jolo), in S Philippines.
  • stresemanni Mertens, 1923 - E New Guinea (Huon Peninsula and adjacent hinterland, S slopes of mountains in SE).

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