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Lanius souzae (Souza's shrike,
Sousa's shrike)
Souzase laksman [Afrikaans]; Nankuwo (generic term for
shrike) [Kwangali]; Souza-klauwier [Dutch]; Pie-grièche de Souza [French];
Souzawürger [German]; Picanço de Souza [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) >
Order: Passeriformes > Family: Laniidae
Distribution and habitat
An uncommon and difficult to see bird, occurring from the
Congo through southern DRC to much of Angola and Zambia, extending marginally
into southern Africa. Here it has rarely been recorded a number of times in the
Caprivi Strip, Namibia, usually in broad-leaved woodland such as Burkea (Burkea
africana). It is a very shy and retiring bird, usually seen in the mid
canopy.
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Distribution of Souza's shrike in southern Africa,
based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas
Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common). |
Food
Very little is known about its diet other then that it eats
beetles, spiders and occasionally small birds. It often forages from a perch 2-4
metres above ground, pouncing on prey before returning to feed.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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