Brown Shrike eating a small frog

 

Brown Shrike on open field

 

Brown Shrike in the rain

These two pictures were taken on 12 January 2025 during the northeast monsoon raining season.

Brown Shrike shaking its body to dry

AI Overview

A long-distance migrant passerine, the Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) typically winters in Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and is expected to return to its breeding grounds in northern Asia (like Mongolia and Siberia) as spring approaches.

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

Behavior:

Individuals are sedentary during winter, each occupying a restricted area and exhibiting territorial behaviour. 

Fidelity to Wintering Sites:

Studies have shown that Brown Shrikes often return to the same wintering locations each year, demonstrating high fidelity to these areas. That's why I see this species perch on top of the bamboo every year. in my backyard

Current Date:

As of March 15, 2025, the Brown Shrikes would be expected to be in the process of migrating back north to their breeding grounds.

(info from AI)

How do birds keep their feathers waterproof?

Birds achieve feather waterproofing through a combination of their feather structure and the use of oils from their preen gland, which they apply through a process called preening.

(AI overview)

Tiger Shrike catch a Cricket

Tiger Shrike catches a Cricket

Continue from the last posting of Kingfisher and the Tiger shrike eating crickets

When I tossed it on the ground, all the crickets crawled and jumped around, and some of it ended on the bamboo tree and the perimeter wall.

Tiger shrike  (Lanius tigrinus) looking down for prey

What do tiger shrikes eat?

It feeds mainly on insects, particularly grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, bugs, butterflies, and moths.

It also takes other arthropods and small birds and lizards. It typically hunts from a perch at the forest edge, perching less conspicuously than many other shrikes.

(from Wikipedia).

Gotcha!

Tiger shrikes migrate to Malaysia from August to May. They are common passage migrants and winter visitors in Peninsular Malaysia. 

When do they arrive and leave? 

Ø Arrival: Late August to early May in Peninsular Malaysia

Ø Departure: Returns to breeding grounds in May and June

Where do they go? 

Ø Urban gardens

Ø Coastal fields

Ø Fringes of hill and lowland forest

Ø Forest clearings and edges

Ø Cultivated land

Ø Mangroves

(From Generative AI) 

 

Birds eat Cricket

Tiger Shrike and White-throated Kingfisher eat Cricket (Gryllus sps)

Nice breakfast

A kingfisher has made my backyard its home, and it’s quite the character! It often starts calling around 7 AM, and I love watching it perch on the metal frame just outside my kitchen as it keeps an eye out for insects. However, it’s usually too dark for me to take a good picture at that hour, and the little bird gets startled by even the tiniest movement I make.

To make photography a bit easier, I use crickets as bait. I toss it on the grass and wait.

Sure, within a minute that Kingfisher swopwed down to catch the cricket.

The Tiger shrike and Magpie Robin also joined the feeding frenzy

Cricket (Gryllus sps)

I bought these crickets from the fishing tackle shop, which sells 20 cickets for RM2

Tiger shrike

White-throated Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher harassing Brown Shrike

Happy shrike

The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a migrating bird. I can easily see this during autumn ( October and November). It will hunt for food, insects etc., and will return to the same perch, usually the top dominant branch.

Suddenly, the big white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra) appeared  with a loud noise from below, startling the shrike.

staring at something below

White-throated Kingfisher move upward with kit-kit-kit sound

displacing the Brown shrike

took over the top bamboo branch

flew away to other place

just to harassed

 

Male and Female Brown Shrike

Female Brown Shrike

Male (Zoro) Brown Shrike

 

Brown Shrike caught a frog

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) caught a small frog

look I got something big for breakfast

store the food on the wire

the frog is too big to be eat whole, so it is left hanging at the sharp wire, may be eats latter without disturbance of  a photographer 

 

Brown Shrike – first winter foraging on White Lead-tree

Burung Seliah / Burung Tirjup mencari makan di Pokok Petai Belalang

Brown Shrike – first winter  foraging on White Lead-tree 

Datang semula pada tempat biasa, di belakang kedai Taman Maju Indah,  SINI (https://redzlan.blogspot.com/2021/04/brown-shrine-on-white-lead-tree-and.html)
 

A first winter Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus), foraging on White Lead-tree (Leucaena leucocephala) 

Dorsal view

Perched on the blue PVC-coated barbed wire

L.c. cristatus (described above) breeds in C and E Siberia, S to N Mongolia, L. Baikal area, N Sakhalin, and W Kamchatka. It winters in C and S India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar coastal area, and the Malay Peninsula. (info from https://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-brown-shrike.html)

 

February 2022 Backyard photos

Yellow-vented Bulbul fly with food (insect)

Greater Caucal with food (Garden Snail)

Glossy Asian Starling forages on fruiting tree Salam fruits (Syzygium polyanthum)

Brown-throated Sunbird  - female

Kelicap Mayang kelapa (female Brown-throated Sunbird sucks nectar on the coconut flowers)

Magpie Robin and Yellow-vented Bulbul

Merbah menyorok di celah daun nyiur

Brown Shrike on a bamboo tree

Brown shrike preening

Rose Jepun - Portulaca grandiflora

Wild flowers - Pokok bunga balung ayam (Celosia argentea ) - ID by Junn Junaidah Hashim

Lalang,  Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)

Bokeh
Rumput Gajah Elephant Grass (Pennisetum purpureum)

Oren (Oyen)