Lanius isabellinus

Narsapur Forest Range, Telangana - A rare winter migrant

Today we return again to the neighbouring forests of Narsapur where I had spotted, on an earlier trip, the Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) - a bird belonging to the family of cuckooshrikes and minivets, the Campephagidae.

An interesting experience this one. I was on my own accompanied only by my friend and driver, Aijaz. We’d arrived well before dawn and were in position on an embankment. There is a dried pond here which has always piqued my curiosity because when it does fill with water it is a natural deterrent and slightly isolates a couple of trees of the wild guava and a lantana bush. Very good perches and it is also in this general vicinity that I had earlier photographed the beautiful Black Redstart.

I was standing quietly as dawn broke on a lovely wintery Saturday when I spotted an unfamiliar bird come and perch on a tree to my left. I found it again and took a few pictures. The bird took off almost immediately and I didn’t see it again. I did not realise at the time but later as I went through the few photos I had taken imagine my surprise when I found this beautiful winter migrant. Winter is here again and I hope to spot this beautiful migrant again among others. 

Narsapur Forest Range

Located in the Deccan Plateau in the central stretch, the prosperous state of Telangana has sub-tropical climate and the terrain consists mostly of hills, mountain ranges, and thick dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km². The annual rainfall ranges between 1,100 mm to 1,200 mm and the annual temperature varies from 15 C to 45 C. The state is drained by a number of rivers which include the Godavari and the Krishna.

Telangana is endowed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has dense teak forests on the northern part along the banks of river Godavari. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Telangana belong to three Forest Type Groups, which are further divided into 12 Forest Types. The State Government has taken up a massive greening programme, 'Telangana Ku Harita Haram' in the State to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over a period of 4 years. This initiative aims at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the forest cover and reduce pressure on the existing forest resources, through massive community participation by Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSS) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in Protected Areas and Watershed Development Committees in the Watershed areas. Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 26,904 km² of which 20,353 km² is Reserved Forest, 5,939 km² is Protected Forest and 612 km² is Unclassed Forests. In Telangana, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 9,420 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF & CC, 2019). As per the information received from the State during that last two years, 12,730 ha of plantations including avenue plantations in the State.

Three National Parks and nine Wildlife Sanctuaries constitute the Protected Area network of the State covering 5.08% of its geographical area.

The Narsapur forest range is spread over 30 km² at an easily drivable distance of 45 km from Hyderabad, the state capital. It is brimming with a plethora of exquisite and fragrant flora and fauna, natural rock formations, ponds and which is at its best during the monsoons. There are small steep elevations which are easy to climb and invariably most of these begin at a temple in the forest. There is also the Narsapur Forest Urban Park with a watchtower in close proximity which provides stunning views of the whole forest. Our sojourn starts at one of these temples just off the highway where we park our cars and trek into the forest. The area surrounding and in close proximity of the temple is teeming with bird life and if one has the patience one is assured of spotting numerous species as they forage in the foliage.

Isabelline Shrike/ Daurian Shrike

The Isabelline shrike or Daurian shrike (Lanius isabellinus) is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was previously considered conspecific with the red-backed shrike and red-tailed shrike. It is found in an extensive area between the Caspian Sea and north and central China southeast to the Qaidam Basin.

It is a small pale sandy-coloured shrike about 16·5–18 cm long and weighing between 26–33·5 g. A rather small, compact but long-tailed shrike, with calls and behaviour similar to the Red-backed Shrike. The male is gray-brown above with a black mask and unmarked pale underparts that contrast with a bright cinnamon tail. The female is similar, but with a paler mask, grayer upperparts, and faint barring on the sides. Both sexes have pale underparts. The Red-tailed Shrike looks similar, but male Red-tailed Shrikes have a contrasting warm brownish crown and females average whiter on the underparts. Female Red-backed Shrikes also have a warmer brown back and more prominent scaling patterns on a white breast and belly than Isabelline Shrikes. The plumage is isabelline, the sandy colour which gives rise to its name. It has a red tail. Young birds can be distinguished from young red-backed shrikes by the much sparser. They are typically found in dry brushy areas and their song is composed of various whistles, warbles, and mimicry; calls are harsh and sometimes nasal.

The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common name is from the specific isabellinus, Neo-Latin for "greyish-yellow" probably named for Isabella I of Castile, said to have promised not to change her undergarments until Spain was freed from the Moors. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.

This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes.

The Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) and Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) are both common winter visitors to different parts of the Indian Subcontinent. The Isabelline Shrike has a more southwesterly breeding range and wintering range than Brown Shrike. It breeds in central and East Asia and migrates southwest to winter in western Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, eastern Africa, and in all but the eastern and southern parts of the Indian Subcontinent.

The Brown Shrike breeds in Russia and East Asia and migrates southwest to winter largely in areas east of the wintering range of Isabelline Shrike. It winters in southern, central and eastern India, and in the whole of Southeast Asia. Several subspecies visit India with the most common being ssp. cristatus that breeds in the more western parts of its breeding range. But ssp. confuscus and ssp. lucionensis also migrate to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and in small numbers to the eastern and southern edges of the Indian peninsula.

The Isabelline (or Red-tailed) Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) has been treated in the past as conspecific with Red-backed Shrike (L collurio) (e.g. Vaurie, 1959) or with both Red-backed and Brown Shrike (L. cristatus) (e.g. Dement’ev and Gladkov, 1954). Until recently, it has generally been treated as a separate species comprising four sub-species: two, phoenicuroides and speculigerus breeding in central Asia and migrating southwest, wintering in Arabia and NE Africa; two, isabellinus and tsaidamensis, breed in North China and are shorter distance migrants, wintering in Pakistan and NW India west to Iran.

David Pearson had for a while suspected that the "type" specimen of Isabelline Shrike (L isabellinus isabellinus), through which the species was first described (collected in western Arabia and described by Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1833), was in fact of the race speculigerus. Following an investigation, with the type specimen being located by Gerhard Nikolaus at the Berlin Museum, Pearson was able to confirm that the plumage of the type specimen was indeed that of speculigerus, freshly moulted and like the birds that over-winter in the Sudan Nile valley. Therefore, following the rule of precedence involved in taxonomic names, what was previously known as L isabellinus speculigerusis is now to be known as the nominate form L isabellinus isabellinus, and a new name found for the previously known "isabellinus."

Pearson has recently published in the Bulletin of the B.O.C. (2000, 120), a review of this specimen and consequently the taxonomy of the "Isabelline Shrike" complex (Pearson, 2000). The results of his investigation are:

• The form previously known as speculigerus Taczanowski 1874, which breeds in Mongolia, should be known as L I isabellinus (speculigerus now becomes synonymous with isabellinus).

• The form breeding from Iran and Afghanistan to southern Kazakhstan, remains as L i phoenicuroides (Schalow 1875).

• The form previously known as isabellinus, which breeds in the Tarim basin of NW China, is re-named L i arenarius (Blyth 1846).

• The other form that breeds in the Tsaidam depression in N China remains as L i tsaidamensis, although in truth this form is said to be non-valid, with birds from that area being more reminiscent of isabellinus and not arenarius, (Tim Worfolk, pers. com.).

The Isabelline Shrike breeds in tamarisk (Tamarix) thickets in river valleys, patches of scrub in dry steppe, in mountains extending up to perhaps c. 2000 m. In non-breeding quarters, found in India and Pakistan on edges of cultivation in semi-desert and among sparse acacia (Acacia) and tamarisk trees, often in open grassland near water; in E Africa it occurs in relatively open country up to c. 2400 m with scattered bushes, and in dry lowlands, generally preferring drier and more thorny vegetation than that used by L. collurio, but in Chad it has been observed in marshy areas. As with other shrikes, from several of which it seems not to be segregated in winter quarters, foraging requirements include much exposed soil.

The Isabelline is almost exclusively insectivorous preferring mostly beetles (of families Elateridae, Tenebrionidae, Scarabaeidae) and crickets and grasshoppers (Orthoptera), with other invertebrates taken less often; also some small vertebrates taken, including voles (Microtini), small lizards, and small birds such as leaf-warblers (Phylloscopus) and pipits (Anthus) and wagtails (Motacilla). It uses a sit-and-wait foraging technique, utilizing a variety of lookouts, including wires, fence lines and tree branches and most insects are taken on ground and impaling of prey is not rare.

The Isabelline Shrike is not globally threatened (Least Concern). It is also not well known and probably not uncommon in much of their range, but they are locally uncommon. The global population size is not quantified, but believed not to be close to the thresholds that would indicate that this species is at risk. Protected in most countries; in some it is listed as “endangered”. A decrease in the use of agricultural pesticides, combined with conservation of semi-open habitats (pastures, meadows) with scattered bushes, would probably be the most effective measure to ensure its future. Present in several national parks and other protected areas in its non-breeding range.

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