From Birds of Singapore.

by Christopher Hail (1980)


Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

This species is most often encountered in open country, parks and gardens. The adult birds have a conspicuous black mask; this is absent in ammature birds. The latter may be identified by their dull plumage with much abrring on the breast. It is a very noisy bird and seems to be one of the few species that defends a territory in its winter quarters. They do this with harsh, grating, chattering calls.

They feed on insects which are often taken from the ground, pounced upon froma high perch, and the large ones held with a foor while they are consumed. There are four seperate races which have been recorded from Singapore, but only two are really common - superciliosus, which has a chesnout head and back and passes through on migration south, and confusus, with an ash-brown head and back.

From Birds of Singapore and Southeast Asia(1980).

by Sir John A. Bucknill & F. N. Chasen

In addition ... other closely allied shrikes occasionally appear as migrants in Singapore: these include the Philippine Shrike (Lanius cristatus luconiensis), the Brown Shrike (L. c. luconiensis) and Chesnut- crowned Shrike (L. c. superciliosus) all of which are sub-species of the same bird, breeding in different areas to the north of Singapore but mixing together when they reach their winter quarters.