45) LONG TAILED SHRIKE (Lanius schach)

Long Tailed Shrike Vanvihar 060916

45) Long-tailed Shrike or Rufous-backed shrike (Lanius schach) #shrike #birds

I saw a solitary Long Tailed Shrike sitting on the top of fence pole inside Vanvihar National Park, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in the month of September 2016. 

Long Tailed Shrike Vanvihar 060916

I saw this bird very often in the same locality inside Vanvihar National Park. It was always seen solitary and not as a part of a flock. 

Long Tailed Shrike Vanvihar 190316

I saw this bird during March 2016 in Vanvihar before the September 2016 sightings.

Long Tailed Shrike Vanvihar 190316

Again it was a solitary bird, perched on a branch at the top of a tree.

Long Tailed Shrike Vanvihar 190316

Long Tailed Shrike Halali 180916

Later on while travelling to Halali waterfalls in the district of Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, once again I saw this bird near Halali.

Long Tailed Shrike Halali 180916

There too, It was a solitary bird perched on a branch at the top of a tree. 

Long Tailed Shrike Halali 180916

There are several subspecies of Long Tailed Shrike due to considerable differences in plumage. Most of its subspecies have a broad dark mask through the eye covering the forehead. Its tail is narrow and graduated with pale rufous on the outer feathers. It has rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder. 

Long Tailed Shrike Halali 180916

The Long-Tailed Shrike favours scrub and dry open habitats. It is often found perched prominently on top of a bush or on a wire. It is found across Asia. In the tropics, it tends to be non-migratory. 

Long Tailed Shrike Halali 180916

On the IUCN Red List, this bird was classified as Least Concern.

Long Tailed Shrike devouring grasshopper Gwalior 230916

Recently, saw a Long Tailed Shrike at a distance somewhere near Gwalior. Later on, while examining the photographs, I understood that it was devouring  a grasshopper and made a picture movie of these photographs.

I do not know whether the picture movie will work on the blog. So uploaded it in Youtube : https://youtu.be/34_goD-5_7I

In my listing of birds that I have seen and photographed, the Long Tailed Shrike is at 45th place. 

References: 

1) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp 

2) Birds of South Asia, The Ripley guide by Pamela C. Rasmussen and John C Anderton 

3) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali 

4) A Pictorial Field Guide to Birds of India by Bikram Grewal, Sumit Sen, Sarwandeep Singh, Nikhil Devasar and Garima Bhatia 

5) The Wikipedia