Birds of India - The New Synopsis

A complete checklist of bird species and subspecies found in India

Passeriformes (Perching Birds)

Laniidae (Shrikes)

• Lanius Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.93 Lanius excubitor Linnaeus, 1758; Type by subsequent designation (Swainson, 1824, The Zoological Journal, 1, p.294)
  • 683. Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor Linnaeus, 1758
    Original Description: Lanius excubitor Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.94
    Alternative Names: [Southern Grey Shrike, Steppe Grey Shrike]
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: High. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 683a. Lanius excubitor homeyeri Cabanis, 1873 [HB#936]
      Original Description: Lanius homeyeri Cabanis, 1873 Journal für Ornithologie 21 p.75
      Distribution: Winter: Gilgit (twice), Kashmir (once), and Ladakh (three times).
      Specimens: NHMUK
      Notes: Reidentification of Gilgit specimen by Charles Vaurie as leucopterus Severtsov 1875 has been challenged in AR2001 and is considered this subspecies. However, the specimen (by Scully?) is lost. See Gyalpo et al. (2022, IB 18 (2): 55) and Praveen (2024, JBNHS 121 (2): 203).
    • [Lanius excubitor leucopterus Severtsov, 1875 [HB#936]]
      Original Description: Lanius excubitor var. leucoptera Severtsov, 1875 Stray Feathers Vol. 3, N° 5 p.430
      Taxonomy: Not always recognised and considered a junior synonym of homeyeri (see IOC, Avilist).
      Distribution: Gilgit.
      Notes: Apart from the lone Gilgit specimen that is considered here as L. e. homeyeri, there are no other claims documented.
    • 683b. Lanius excubitor lahtora (Sykes, 1832) [HB#933]
      Original Description: Collurio lahtora Sykes, 1832 Proceedings of the Committee of Science and Correspondence of the Zoological Society of London Part 2 p.86 (Deccan [=Dukhun])
      Distribution: Throughout Indian subcontinent from Himachal and Punjab, west till Gujarat, east till W Bengal, and south till S Tamil Nadu – local in most regions except W India.
      Type Specimen: NHMUK#1880.1.1.1421 (Holotype).
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, MCZ, YPM, HYD, LKO
    • 683c. Lanius excubitor pallidirostris Cassin, 1851 [HB#934]
      Original Description: Lanius pallidirostris Cassin, 1851 Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 5 p.244
      Distribution: Winter: W Rajasthan, Kachchh, and Delhi region (once).
      Specimens: NHMUK, UMMZ
  
  
  • 684. Giant Shrike Lanius giganteus Przevalski, 1887
    Original Description: Lanius giganteus Przevalski, 1887 Zapiski Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk 55 (1) p. 86
    Alternative Names: Giant Grey Shrike
    Distribution: Vagrant. Reported from Bum La (N W Arunachal).
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Recent addition.
    Notes: See Kapdi (2024, IB 20 (2): 46 ).
  
  
  • 685. Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus Lichtenstein, 1823
    Original Description: Lanius nubicus Lichtenstein, 1823 Verzeichniss der Doubletten des zoologischen Museums der Königl. Universität zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten von Säugethieren, Vögeln, Amphibien und Fischen p.47
    Distribution: Vagrant. Reported only from Kaanjan (Gujarat) and Ladakh.
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    Notes: See Bharti (2017, FL 15 (2): 6) and Gyalpo et al. (2024, IB 20 (3): 95).
  
  
  • 686. Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor Gmelin, 1788 [HB#937]
    Original Description: Lanius minor Gmelin, 1788 Systema Naturae. Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata. Cura Jo. Frid. Gmelin (etc.). Tomus I [pars I] 13, vol. 1, part 1, p.308
    Distribution: Vagrant. Reported from Shey and Hanle (both Ladakh), Srinagar (Kashmir), Ludhiana (Punjab), Mumbai (Maharashtra), and Kole (Kerala).
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II. CMS: Appendix II.
    Notes: See Delany et al. (2014, IB 9 (1): 4), Aggarwal (2019, IB 14 (6): 187).
  
  
  • 687. Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758
    Original Description: Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.94
    IUCN: Near Threatened. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 687a. Lanius senator niloticus (Bonaparte, 1853) [HB#951]
      Original Description: Enneoctonus niloticus Bonaparte, 1853 Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée (2), Tome 5, 16ème Année p.439
      Distribution: Vagrant. Reported only from Alibaug (NW Maharashtra).
      Notes: Assumed to be of this subspecies. See Nandgaonkar (2013, IB 8 (6): 164).
  
  
  • 688. Tiger Shrike Lanius tigrinus Drapiez, 1828
    Original Description: Lanius tigrinus Drapiez, 1828 Dictionnaire classique d'histoire naturelle 13 p.523
    Distribution: Vagrant. Reported from S W Bengal.
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Recent addition.
    Notes: See Mukherjee (2024, IB 20 (2): 47).
  
  
  • 689. Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus Valenciennes, 1826
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: Low. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 689a. Lanius vittatus vittatus Valenciennes, 1826 [HB#940]
      Original Description: Lanius vittatus Valenciennes, 1826 Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles, dans lequel on traite méthodiquement des différens êtres de la nature, considérés soit en eux-mêmes, d'après l'état actuel de nos connoissances, soit relativement à l'utilité qu'en peuvent retirer la médecine, l'agriculture, le commerce et les arts. Suivi d'une biographie des plus célèbres naturalistes ...Par plusieurs professeurs du Jardin du Roi, et des principales écoles de Paris 40 p.227 (Puducherry [=Pondichery])
      Distribution: Throughout Indian subcontinent from Kashmir, Ladakh (sporadic), Himachal, south till Kanyakumari district, west till Gujarat and east till Bihar and W Bengal – sporadic or local in W coast and E coast.
      Type Specimen: MNHN#2012-621 (Syntype).
      Specimens: BNHS, NHMUK, MNHN, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, MCZ, ROM, USNM, YPM, TNHM, HYD, LKO
  
  
  • 690. Burmese Shrike Lanius collurioides Lesson, 1832
    Alternative Names: Chestnut-rumped Shrike
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 690a. Lanius collurioides collurioides Lesson, 1832 [HB#941]
      Original Description: Lanius collurioides Lesson, 1832 Voyage aux Indes Orientales par le Nord de l'Europe, les provinces du Caucase, la Géorgie, l'Arménie et la Perse (etc.). Zoologie Zool. pt4 p.250
      Distribution: Winter: E Arunachal, E Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram.
      Specimens: UMMZ, USNM
  
  
  • 691. Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833
    Alternative Names: Pale Brown Shrike, Rufous-tailed Shrike (with L. phoenicuroides)
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: High. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • [Lanius isabellinus isabellinus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 [HB#943]]
      Original Description: Lanius isabellinus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 Symbolae physicae seu icones et descriptiones corporum naturalium novorum aut minus cognitorum quae ex itineribus per Libyam Aegyptum Nubiam Dongolam Syrian Arabiam et Habessianiam publico institutis (etc.) sig.e
      Taxonomy: Previously, birds belonging to arenarius were assigned to isabellinus (see R&A 2012).
      Distribution: Gujarat.
      Notes: See Ganpule (2017, FL 15 (3): 4) for possible birds found in Gujarat.
    • 691a. Lanius isabellinus arenarius Blyth, 1846
      Original Description: Lanius arenarius Blyth, 1846 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 15 no.172 p.304
      Distribution: Winter: NW India from Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, adjoining Himachal, Delhi region, Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, NW Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa, N Karnataka, and NW Telangana; has straggled to S Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala as well as S W Bengal and Odisha. Also reported on passage from Kashmir, Gilgit, and Ladakh.
      Specimens: NHMUK, AMNH, FMNH, USNM
    • [Lanius isabellinus tsaidamensis Stegmann, 1930 ]
      Original Description: Lanius collurio tsaidamensis Stegmann, 1930 Ornithologische Monatsberichte 38, p.115
      Distribution: Gujarat.
      Notes: One photographed in Gujarat possibly of this subspecies (Ganpule 2017, FL 15 (3): 5).
  
  
  • 692. Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio Linnaeus, 1758 [HB#941]
    Original Description: Lanius collurio Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.94
    Distribution: Non-breeding: W Rajasthan, Gujarat (mainly Kachchh) as well as Gilgit and Ladakh. Straggler to NW Maharashtra.
    Specimens: BNHS, NHMUK, MCZ
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
  
  
  • 693. Red-tailed Shrike Lanius phoenicuroides (Schalow, 1875) [HB#942]
    Original Description: Otomela phoenicuroides Schalow, 1875 Journal für Ornithologie 23. Jahrgang, Vierte Folge, 3. Band, II. Heft, No. 130 p.148-150
    Taxonomy: Gujarat birds are mostly intermediate with L. isabellinus arenarius Blyth, 1846 (RA2012) but see Ganpule (2018, FL 16 (1): 7) on the presence of pure forms in Kachchh. The morph karelini has also been reported.
    Alternative Names: Turkestan Shrike, Rufous Shrike
    Distribution: Non-breeding: W Rajasthan, Kachchh, Saurashtra, Delhi region, as well as Gilgit and Ladakh.
    Specimens: BNHS, NHMUK, FMNH
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
  
  
  • 694. Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758
    Original Description: Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.94
    Alternative Names: Rufous-backed Shrike
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: Low. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 694a. Lanius schach erythronotus (Vigors, 1831) [HB#946]
      Original Description: Collurio erythronotus Vigors, 1831 Proceedings of the Committee of Science and Correspondence of the Zoological Society of London Part 1 no.4 p.42 (Shimla-Almora districts, W Himalaya)
      Taxonomy: See AR2001 for re-restricting the type locality from Lucknow to Shimla-Almora district
      Distribution: Breeding: W Himalaya from Gilgit, Ladakh, Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal, and Uttarakhand. Non-breeding: N subcontinent including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, W Bengal, and south till E Maharashtra (Nagpur) but sporadically till Belagavi (N Karnataka).
      Specimens: BNHS, NHMUK, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, MCZ, ROM, USNM, YPM, LKO
    • 694b. Lanius schach caniceps Blyth, 1846 [HB#947]
      Original Description: Lanius caniceps Blyth, 1846 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol. 15, N° 172 p.302-303 (Chennai)
      Taxonomy: Includes kathiawarensis Koelz 1952 from Jamwala, Junagadh.
      Distribution: Gujarat (including Kachchh), Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra, and south till Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
      Type Specimen: ZSI#35369 (Syntype).
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, MCZ, ROM, USNM, YPM, TNHM, HYD
      Notes: Local movements not mapped well.
    • 694c. Lanius schach tricolor Hodgson, 1837 [HB#948]
      Original Description: Lanius tricolor Hodgson, 1837 The India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts 1 p.446
      Distribution: Uttarakhand (sporadic), Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Nagpur (historical, once), W Bengal, Odisha (sporadic), NE Andhra (sporadic), Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland, Cachar, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, UMMZ, FMNH, MCZ, USNM, YPM, BNHM
  
  
  • 695. Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758
    Alternative Names: Philippine Shrike L. c. lucionensis, Japanese Shrike L. c. superciliosus
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: Low. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 695a. Lanius cristatus cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 [HB#949]
      Original Description: Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.93 (Bengal)
      Distribution: Winter: Jammu, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi region, through Gangetic plains till W Bengal; C India till extreme E Rajasthan and Gujarat; Sikkim and entire NE India as well as entire S India. Also, S Andaman and Great Nicobar Is. at least – probably more widespread there as well.
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, RBINS, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, MCZ, ROM, USNM, YPM, TNHM, MYS, BNHM
    • 695b. Lanius cristatus confusus Stegmann, 1929
      Original Description: Lanius cristatus confusus Stegmann, 1929 Journal für Ornithologie 77 p.248
      Taxonomy: Subspecies poorly differentiated, intergrading with the nominate subspecies and often considered an intermediate population of the former with lucionensis (H&M4).
      Distribution: Winter: S India and Andamans at least.
      Specimens: USNM
      Notes: Very few identified specimens but doubtlessly more widespread than lucionensis as evident from photographs in Macaulay Library. Specimens catalogued as this only in the USNM; from Andhra Pradesh (USNM#391662) and Tamil Nadu (USNM#95714, USNM#99463).
    • 695c. Lanius cristatus lucionensis Linnaeus, 1766 [HB#950]
      Original Description: Lanius lucionensis Linnaeus, 1766 Systema Naturæ. Editio duodecima reformata. Tomus I [part 1] 12, p.135
      Distribution: Winter: S India – including S Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala; S W Bengal and Andaman Is – sporadic elsewhere.
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, ROM, USNM
      Notes: Identification as to this subspecies or confuscus is not always straightforward – records may have been compounded.
    • 695d. Lanius cristatus superciliosus Latham, 1801 [HB#950a]
      Original Description: Lanius superciliosus Latham, 1801 Supplementum indicis ornithologici, sive systematis ornithologiæ p.xx
      Distribution: Baghownie (Bihar) and Shyamkhola (W Bengal) – once each.
      Notes: W Bengal record identified from photographs (Chatterjee & Sen 2007, JBNHS 104 (1): 89) while the Bihar specimen by Inglis is termed as 'lost' (RA2012). USNM has two specimens tagged as this subspecies; a 19th century specimen with no details except India (USNM#28517) and another from Biligirirangans, Karnataka (USNM#58700) in 1934 by R Morris. Ali & Whistler (1942, JBNHS 43 (3): 336), in their account of Mysuru survey, did not cover this species and hence it is worthwhile to investigate the correct identification of both the specimens.
  
  
  • 696. Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus (Vigors, 1831)
    Alternative Names: Tibetan Shrike
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: Low. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 696a. Lanius tephronotus lahulensis Koelz, 1950 [HB#944]
      Original Description: Lanius tephronotus lahulensis Koelz, 1950 American Museum Novitates no.1452 p.7 (Kolung, Lahaul, Himachal)
      Taxonomy: Sometimes considered as a hybrid swarm of tephronotus x erythronotus (Whistler & Kinnear 1933).
      Distribution: Kashmir, Ladakh, Jammu, Himachal, and Punjab.
      Type Specimen: AMNH#803068 (Holotype).
      Specimens: ZSI, NHMUK, AMNH, FMNH
    • 696b. Lanius tephronotus tephronotus (Vigors, 1831) [HB#945]
      Original Description: Collurio tephronotus Vigors, 1831 Proceedings of the Committee of Science and Correspondence of the Zoological Society of London Part 1 no.4 p.43 (Himalaya near Darjeeling)
      Distribution: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh (sporadic), Jharkhand, W Bengal, Odisha (once), Madhya Pradesh (historical, once), Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal, and all NE hill states.
      Specimens: BNHS, ZSI, NHMUK, AMNH, FMNH, USNM, YPM, LKO, BNHM
      Notes: Exact breeding and non-breeding ranges not worked out.