Is this a Juvenile Fiscal Shrike ? ***copied from Avian***

[Austin Thomas]

Here is what I believe to be a Juvenile Fiscal Shrike, but I would appreciate any thoughts from those more knowledgeable than myself.

It was taken in the Masai Mara region of Kenya. The bird had been feeding on small insects and bugs found around the vegetation. When it landed in the clear I was able to record this image.

More of my bird images can be found HERE (http://gallery.austin-thomas.co.uk/Animals/Birds-1/11451274_em3t9#1148644861_DTwWV) for those interested.

Canon 1DMK4, 500mm +1.4x f6.3, 1/1600, ISO640

C&C welcome.

Cheers

Austin

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Austin, exposure and sharpness look great. Love the BKGD too, matches with the colors in the bird. Light angle seems to be from the left, putting the breast of the bird in the shade. HA is parallel to the sensor, but should have been a couple of degrees towards you.

[James Salywoda]

Beautiful shot I really like the pose captured and that bg is sweet.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Ditto Clemens. You could always dodge the shaded breast. Good clean comp - vertical was the obvious way to go.

Sorry can't help you on the ID...perhaps someone in the ID forum can help (thread copied there).

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Not sure - I will look into this.
Some fun facts about Shrike's anyway from the web:

A shrike is a passerine bird of the family Laniidae which is known for its habit of catching insects, small birds or mammals and impaling their bodies on thorns. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently-sized fragments, and serves as a "larder" so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time.

A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey, reflecting its predatory nature.

Most shrike species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but two breed in North America. There are no members of this family in South America or Australia.

Some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their habit of keeping corpses

[Hilary Hann]

Austin, looking in my Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Stevenson & Fanshawe) I would say it looks very like the description they give of the immature Common Fiscal (Lanius collaris). The only other similar imm fiscal appears to be the Grey backed Fiscal (for the Mara area) but the face mask and wings appear darker than this on the juvenile. The Long-tailed Fiscal would appear to be on the edge of its territory if it was one of those (although of similar markings and colour) and is quite a bit larger but given the beginnings of the white edge of the tail I would think it is the Common Fiscal.

Hilary

[Steve Garvie]

Cracking image!!!

I'm certainly not competent to offer critique on the image but would agree that it looks to be an immature Common Fiscal (Lanius collaris) -the common lone shrike of the Mara (Grey-backs hang around in clans!).