Long-tailed Fiscal
Encyclopedia
The Long-tailed Fiscal is a species of bird
in the shrike family Laniidae. The species is closely related to the more widespread Grey-backed Fiscal
and is sometimes placed in a separate subgenus, Neolanius, with that species. It is found in southern Somalia
, southern and south-eastern Kenya
, from the shores of Lake Victoria
to the coast; and northern and eastern Tanzania
south to Dar es Salaam
, with a separate population at Usanga Flats.
Its natural habitat
is open dry habitats such as dry, treeless savanna
, open woodland and cultivated patches.
This conspicuous fiscal can often be seen in small groups perching in the open especially noticeable on telegraph poles and wires. It characteristically waggles its long tail from side to side excitedly. It can be distinguished from the common fiscal, Lanius collaris, by its gray back and more robust shape.
s and grasshopper
s, as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, snakes and bird chicks. It occurs as single birds or in small groups and hunts in the typical fashion for a shrike, perched about two metres off the ground where it watches for and then dives onto prey. Prey is usually taken from the ground and sometimes from foliage, but only rarely from the air. The species has been reported to have a mutualistic
relationship with Red-billed Buffalo Weavers in Tsavo
in Kenya. The Long-tailed Fiscal benefits from associating with the weavers by snatching grasshoppers and other insects flushed by the foraging weavers, and the weavers benefited from the alarm calls made by the more vigilant fiscals.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the shrike family Laniidae. The species is closely related to the more widespread Grey-backed Fiscal
Grey-backed Fiscal
The Grey-backed Fiscal is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitats are dry savanna and...
and is sometimes placed in a separate subgenus, Neolanius, with that species. It is found in southern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, southern and south-eastern Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, from the shores of Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
to the coast; and northern and eastern Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
south to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, with a separate population at Usanga Flats.
Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is open dry habitats such as dry, treeless savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, open woodland and cultivated patches.
This conspicuous fiscal can often be seen in small groups perching in the open especially noticeable on telegraph poles and wires. It characteristically waggles its long tail from side to side excitedly. It can be distinguished from the common fiscal, Lanius collaris, by its gray back and more robust shape.
Description
Like many shrike species the appearance of the adults is similar between the sexes but strikingly different in juvenile birds. Adult bird are between 26 to 30 cm (10.2 to 11.8 in) in length and weigh between 69 to 80 g (2.4 to 2.8 oz) (with males averaging slightly heavier). They are large and robust with, as the name suggests, very long graduated tails and typical strong heavy bills.Behaviour
The Long-tailed Fiscal feeds on insects, particularly beetleBeetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, snakes and bird chicks. It occurs as single birds or in small groups and hunts in the typical fashion for a shrike, perched about two metres off the ground where it watches for and then dives onto prey. Prey is usually taken from the ground and sometimes from foliage, but only rarely from the air. The species has been reported to have a mutualistic
Mutualism
Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species biologically interact in a relationship in which each individual derives a fitness benefit . Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation...
relationship with Red-billed Buffalo Weavers in Tsavo
Tsavo
Tsavo is a region of Kenya located at the crossing of the Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River, close to where it meets the Athi River. It is a KiKamba word meaning "a place of slaughter", a reference to the murderous attacks of Maasai morani on Kamba people there...
in Kenya. The Long-tailed Fiscal benefits from associating with the weavers by snatching grasshoppers and other insects flushed by the foraging weavers, and the weavers benefited from the alarm calls made by the more vigilant fiscals.