Long-tailed Fiscal

About the Long-tailed Fiscal

The long-tailed fiscal (Lanius cabanisi) 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.

Like many shrike species the appearance of the adults is similar between the sexes but strikingly different in juvenile birds. Adult birds are between 26 and 30 cm (10–12 in) in length and weigh between 69 and 80 g (2.4–2.8 oz) (with males averaging slightly heavier). They are large and robust with, as... Wikipedia →