Urolestes melanoleucus
The Magpie Shrike, or African Long-tailed Shrike, is a stunning passerine bird known for its striking black and white plumage and exceptionally long tail. Adults are entirely glossy black, save for a conspicuous white patch on the primaries, visible primarily in flight, and often white undertail coverts. Its most distinctive feature is its graduated tail, which can measure up to twice its body length, contributing to an overall length of 35-50 cm and weighing around 70-80 grams. This magnific...
This species primarily inhabits dry thornbush, savanna, and acacia woodlands, favoring open country with scattered trees and bushes. It is typically found at elevations up to 1,500 meters.
Their diet consists mainly of large insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars, supplemented by small reptiles like lizards and snakes. They occasionally consume small birds, mammals, and even some fruit or berries.
The Magpie Shrike exhibits remarkable social behavior, often foraging and moving in cohesive family groups of 3 to 10 individuals, a rarity among true shrikes. These groups engage in cooperative breeding, where non-breeding helpers assist the dominant pair with nesting, incubation, and provisioni...
The Magpie Shrike is a resident species found across a wide, though often patchy, distribution in Southern and East Africa. Its core range includes much of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the northern parts of South Africa. Further north, populations extend into southern Angola, Zambia, the sout...
Least Concern
- The Magpie Shrike possesses the longest tail proportionally of any shrike species, often exceeding its body length. - It is one of the few shrike species known for its highly social nature and cooperative breeding, with non-breeding 'helpers' assisting the primary pair. - Despite its name, the ...