Grey-backed Fiscal

Greymantle Strangler

The gray coat Shrike (Lanius excubitoroides ) is a bird of the family of Shrikes.

Appearance

The gray coat Strangler reached a size of about 25 cm, with which he is among the greatest representatives of this family of birds. The back, neck and the top of the head are gray, the belly and throat white in color. The wings are black, with the exception of a white spot on the primaries. From the wings on the shoulders, the black color attracts a broad band across the eyes and forehead. Also the tail is black, there is only on its sides, a narrow white stripe that extends from the body up to about half the tail length. Hooked beak and legs are dark gray to black. Females differ from males by a chestnut -colored spot on the flank.

The juveniles are gray-brown on the back, neck and top of the head, light beige in color on the belly and the plumage is crisscrossed with many dark stripes. The feathers of the wings are edged with light brown and the beak is light brown and gray.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of the gray coat strangler is in Africa and stretches from Mauritania in the west to Tanzania in the east, where the bird is not common to the coast of the Indian Ocean and exist only to about central Tanzania. The habitat of the bird is in areas on the altitude of 600-1900 meters, rarely takes you up to 3000 meters.

Are populated savanna, subtropical grasslands and open woodlands, usually in the vicinity of water. Also cultivated landscapes are part of the habitat.

Life and voice

Greymantle shrikes are very sociable birds that usually live in small groups. In the group is gebalzt and sung, the song sounds perfect, but croaking. The call is a sharp " schaah ".

Swell

• Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe: Birds of East Africa. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton 2002, pp. 464, ISBN 978-0-691-12665-4