The steppe grey shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is a subspecies of songbird in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to Central Asia and parts of northern China, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Formerly considered either a species in its own right or a subspecies of the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) complex, it is now classified as a subspecies of the great grey shrike.[1]
| Steppe grey shrike | |
|---|---|
| |
| In southern Kazakhstan | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Laniidae |
| Genus: | Lanius |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | L. e. pallidirostris
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Lanius excubitor pallidirostris Cassin, 1851
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Taxonomy
editThe steppe grey shrike was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1851 under the binomial name Lanius pallidirostris.[2] The generic Lanius is Latin for a "butcher" and the specific pallidirostris combines the Latin pallidus for "pale" and -rostris for "billed".[3]
It differs from the nominate subspecies of great grey shrike in being slightly longer-winged and shorter-tailed, and with more extensive white on the primaries. The pale bill from which it was described, only applies to juvenile and first-winter birds; adults have a black bill and lores similar to nominate L. e. excubitor.[4]
References
edit- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Shrikes, vireos & shrike-babblers". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ Cassin, John (1851). "Descriptions of new species of birds of the family Laniadae, specimens of which are in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 5 (10): 244–254 [244–245].
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 219, 289. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Svensson, L., Mullarney, K., & Zetterström, D. (2022) Collins Bird Guide, ed. 3. ISBN 978-0-00-854746-2, pages 366-367
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