As I was driving home from work just now a Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike flew over the road with a large “grub” in its bill. It would seem a bit late/early for it to be feeding young. Any comments?
Thanks,
Sonja Rpss ===============================
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Comments
5 responses to “Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike”
I believe that an American ornithologist many years ago referred to all the Cuckoo-shrikes as Graybirds (his spelling). This left him with the Black Graybird – I think in the Celebes or thereabouts. All the same it wouldn’t be a bad name and would save me having to explain Bifcus to beginners.
Actually the Cuckoo-shrikes do fly like Cuckoos, and they do look very like the European Grey Shrike when we saw it on TV. But it is a confusing compound.
Anthea Fleming in chilly Melbourne
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Sorry to have caused concern and confusion to the group.
I meant …. other similar sized birds that eat large grubs/caterpillars, such as cuckoos (like Pallid or Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoos), that I have seen feeding …….
Cuckoo-Shrikes are not cuckoos Wendy
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I would imagine that if there is a name change, it will most likely come from the IOC (as these things do nowadays) and they’ll probably end up calling them all Coracinas or something. Could be worse, I suppose – Powerful Boobook springs to mind. Cheers,
Tony
Yes, I have not had much chance to observe B-f C-S but other cuckoos I have watched feed would pounce on a caterpillar and take it to a perch where they beat it on the stick – maybe to gut it? before eating it. wendy
Could have just been flying to a perch to eat it Sonja.