Shrikes of the World (Helm Identification Guides)

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Twenty-six years ago, author Norbert Lefranc and illustrator Tim Worfolk produced a labour of love with the first edition of Shrikes of the World, which became the definitive work for this multifaceted, complicated group of birds. With a new series of stunningly detailed plates showing the full range of variation within species, and text accounts that incorporate recent advances in genetic work, the wait for the second edition has surely been worth it. And so, the publication of the latest in the Helm Identification Guides series will no doubt be of great interest to many. Shrikes of the World, by French ornithologist Norbert Lefranc and acclaimed artist Tim Worfolk, is in fact a fully updated version of Shrikes, their seminal work published in 1997. The species accounts give information about the past and current distribution, along with threats and conservation status. Detailed and fully revised maps accompany the authoritative text, along with hundreds of high-quality photos showcasing racial and ageing differences as well as interesting aspects of shrike behaviour. An exceptional new series of plates by Tim Worfolk have been created, with more individual plumages shown than in the previous edition. Parkin, D. T. & Knox, A. G. 2010. The Status of Birds in Britain and Ireland. Christopher Helm, London.

Shrikes of the World: : Norbert Lefranc: Helm - Bloomsbury

Claims of minor should be accompanied by biometrics. Details of a ringed bird would of course provide additional evidence. ( updated Dec 2017 AMS). Common Swift comprises two subspecies – nominate apus across the Western Palearctic and northern Russia and pekinensis (‘Eastern Common Swift’) from Iran to Mongolia and northern China (Cramp et al. 1985). They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe and savannah. A few species of shrikes are forest dwellers, seldom occurring in open habitats. Some species breed in northern latitudes during the summer, then migrate to warmer climes for the winter. Willow Tit comprises fourteen subspecies but only three are of relevance here – kleinschmidti (‘British Willow Tit’) from Britain, borealis (‘Northern Willow Tit’) from Scandinavia, Denmark, the Baltic States, European Russia and Ukraine and rhenanus (‘Central European Willow Tit’) breeding on the near-continent east to westernmost Germany and north-west Switzerland. The subspecies aesalon is a regular breeder and winter visitor in Britain, subaesalon occurring as a migrant and in winter. An old pre-BBRC specimen record of nominate columbarius has been reviewed and rejected but the subspecies has now been readmitted to the British List on the basis of a bird in Caithness in February 2018 . There is also a record of this subspecies from Ireland in September 2000 ( http://www.irbc.ie/reports/irbr/2007_IRBR.pdf). The subspecies pallidus has also been claimed in Britain.

French, P.R. 2009. From the Rarities Committee’s files: Identification of Dark-breasted Barn Owl in Britain. British Birds 102: 494-503. The subspecies pallidirostris (usually referred to as ‘Steppe Grey Shrike’) breeds in Central Asia. It is a rare but regular vagrant to Britain with 26 records to the end of 2017. Key features include a rather bulbous bill, long legs, long primary projection, pale lores, weak face mask, pinkish hues in the underparts, dusty brown hues in the pale grey upperparts and a large white wing patch which is restricted to the primaries. Forsman, D. 2016. Flight Identification of the Raptors of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Bloomsbury, London. Nominate apus is a very common breeder in Britain. The subspecies pekinensis is not on the British List although it is a potential vagrant and has occasionally been suspected (Kehoe 2006). The subspecies anglicus is common in Britain. Otherwise only nominate major is on the British List, this migratory and irruptive subspecies being a scarce migrant here. By contrast, pinetorum is largely sedentary although its occurrence in Britain has been suspected (Kehoe 2006).

Shrikes of the World - BirdGuides

a b Clancey, P.A. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. p.180. ISBN 1-85391-186-0. Shrike". Oxford English Dictionary (Onlineed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) This book is the first monograph in English on the 34 shrike species distributed across Africa, Eurasia and North America. These birds have attracted the attention of ornithologists for a long time, mainly because of their predatory nature and the methods which they use to dispatch their prey. In the book, the most important information on shrikes of the World is summarized, much of which has accumulated in the ornithological literature and obtained by the author himself. These voluminous empirical data are also used by the author in an attempt to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the group at different stages of its phylogenesis, from the early origins of the family Laniidae, presumably in Africa, through the secondary expansion of species across Eurasia and into the New World. Claims of ‘classic’ guttata are welcomed if accompanied by detailed notes and preferably photographs. Details of a ringed or marked bird would provide additional evidence. Shrikes are territorial, and these territories are defended from other pairs. In migratory species, a breeding territory is defended in the breeding grounds and a smaller feeding territory is established during migration and in the wintering grounds. [7] Where several species of shrikes exist together, competition for territories can be intense.The RRP is the suggested or Recommended Retail Price of a product, set by the publisher or manufacturer.