Magpie Shrike ( Corvinella melanoleuca, family: Laniidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Long-tailed Shrike
The Magpie Shrike (Latin name Corvinella melanoleuca) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 735 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 729 also a picture of the Magpie Shrike on page 752. The Magpie
Shrike belongs to the family of birds classified as Laniidae. According
to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Magpie
Shrike is also known by these other names: African Long-tailed Shrike,
Eastern Long-tailed Shrike.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Magpie Shrike was called the Long-tailed Shrike
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Magpie Shrike is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the Magpie Shrike in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Magpie Shrike : see above distribution map.
The Magpie Shrike.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Magpie Shrike is a bird about the size of a grey hornbill. The height of the Magpie Shrike is about 50 cms and its weight is about 80 gms
You will find that the male Magpie Shrike plumage and colours are different to that of the female Magpie Shrike
- Head is black.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is black.
- Back is black.
- Legs are black.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Magpie Shrike feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Magpie Shrike is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Corvinella melanoleuca will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Magpie Shrike is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 2 to 5
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Magpie Shrike are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas
You will normally see the Magpie Shrike in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... umQonqotho
Afrikaans ...Langstertlaksman
German ... Elsterwrger
Portuguese ... Picano-rabilongo
French ... Corvinelle noir et blanc
Dutch ... Eksterklauwier
First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list
For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 735
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
