Common Fiscal Shrike (Lanius collaris)

April 8, 2010 | Posted by Safari Guide

The Common Fiscal (Lanius collaris) has many names – Butcherbird, Jacky Hangman and Fiscal Shrike – all indicate something of the unpopularity of this small predator whose methods of dealing with victims bear a close resemblance to those of the fiskaal – an official or taxman of the Dutch East India company. This civil servant would arrive to collect the year end (fiscal) taxes wearing black and white that mirrors the birds plumage, viciously preying on people’s money and leaving them ‘out to dry’. The Common Fiscal has a small, strong hawk like beak, hooked in the manor of a raptor, and is able to deal not only with insects but also with frogs, lizards and even small birds which it sometimes impales, whether dead or alive, on thorns or barbed wire when not immediately required. The scientific name (Genus) of these shrikes, namely Lanius, means ‘butcher’ which is apt and another reason why this is known as the Butcher bird. The Lanius genus of shrikes of which there are four species in Southern Africa are known as ‘true shrikes’ because they are essentially like miniature eagles in their habits.

Courtship feeding has been observed in the Common Fiscal and they will also mimic the calls of other birds.

The Fiscal Shrike is a strongly territorial bird, each pair driving other Fiscals from the preserve. This is especially the case when nesting and the males will defend their territory ferociously against other males, often grabbing their opponent with their claws and then pecking them repeatedly. Even their own offspring are not exempt from this: as soon as they are sufficiently mature the parent-birds make it perfectly clear that they must move off and fend for themselves.

They are monogamous, and the female deals with most of the nest construction, a process which takes about 2-5 days. The nest is made of a thickly walled cup made of twigs, flower heads, bark, grass, leafy herbs and moss, sometimes also including paper, rags, spider web, feathers and cocoons. It is usually placed in the fork of a thorny bush or small tree, building a new nest each breeding season.

Usually two to three broods are produced within a single breeding season each consisting of between 1 and 5 eggs, but usually 3-4. The eggs are incubated mainly by the female which lasts for between 12 and 16 days.

Once hatched, the chicks are fed mostly by the female in the first week, after which the male gradually takes more responsibility. They stay in the nest for between 14 and 21 days and can feed for themselves after about 3 weeks after fledgling, but they only really become completely independent after a few more weeks, when they leave their parents territory when about four months old.

Though most share black and white plumage, the shrikes of Africa appear to have evolved from two different ancestors. Those related to the European Shrike are characterised by a guttural voice and decidedly unkempt nest-building habits; those related to the warblers are immediately identified by there melodious song and neat well-constructed nests.

Fiscal Shrikes are a common sight in most of southern Africa and it occurs almost everywhere in South Africa, extending into much of Namibia, Zimbabwe and southern Botswana. It lives in a wide variety of habitats but seems to prefer open habitats with scattered trees, such as savanna, open woodland, shrub-land and grassland. It is also extremely common in man-made habitats such as gardens, parks, farmland and roadsides and is a common sight in my parents garden in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Names in Other Languages
Fiskaallaksman (Afrikaans), Inxanxadi, Umxhomi (Xhosa), iLunga, iQola (Zulu), Nankuwo is a generic term for shrike (Kwangali) Tšemeli (also applied to Red-backed shrike and Lesser grey shrike) (South Sotho), Korera (Shona) Juka, Rhiyani (these terms also applied to Lesser grey shrike) (Tsonga) Tlhômêdi (Tswana), Gekraagde klauwier (Dutch), Pie-grièche fiscale (French), Fiskalwürger (German), Picanço-fiscal (Portuguese)

References
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005.
Beat About The Bush Birds book By Trevor Carnaby

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