I.anins tephronotus – Wikipedia

L’ having gray back ( I.anins tephronotus ( Vigors, 1831 )) is a bird belonging to the Lanidi family ^[2] .

The scientific name of the species, tephronotus , derives from the union of Greek words TEFRUS ( tephros , “Cenerino”) e rear ( off , “back”), with the meaning of “from the gray back”: the common name of these birds is nothing but the translation of the scientific one.

Size [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Measures 21-23 cm in length, for 39-54 g of weight ^[3] .

I wait [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

These are birds with a robust but slender appearance, equipped with a large oval head and elongated with strong beak and the aduna end, short wings and rounded, strong clawed legs and long tail (up to half the total length of the animal) from ‘squared end.

The plumage presents itself as ash gray on a cap (front, top and nape), back (this characteristic to which the species must both its common name and the scientific name) and scapular, while on the codion the coloring fades into the orange- beige , which continues and intensifies on the hips, instead disgusing itself on the belly and undercodes and sloping in the pure white of the chest and throat: the tail, the wings and the facial mask (which extends from the sides of the beak to the upper part of the cheeks and fin and fin Almost in the neck) they are black, the second with finely oralized whitish covers.

The eyes are dark brown in color, the legs are blackish in color and the beak is almost completely in blackish in color, with the exception of the proximal part of the lower jaw which is horn.

These are birds with daytime and generally solitary, rather territorial life habits: these animals, in fact, pass most of the day perched on a prominent posterior from which they can have a privileged vision of the surroundings, keeping an eye on their territory Looking for any intruders who inadvertently bound or at the same time of potential passage.

The calls of daring dorsogrigy are acute and whistle, rather melodious (especially if compared to those of the others having them): the intruders conspecified in the territory, however, are redeemed with bitterly crooked calls.

Diet [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Having it dorsogrigy is a vast bird insectivorous, whose diet is mostly composed of large insects (such as vegetables and beetles ^[3] ) and caterpillars: these birds also prevent small vertebrates from time to time, especially lizards.

As observable in most of the having them, even having it dorsogris is used to break their prey and infil are excess food on pointed supports, in such a way as to be able to consume it later.

Reproduction [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

These are monogamous birds, whose reproductive season extends from April to August, with most of the broods that occur in May-June ^[3] .

The cup-shaped nest is built by both sexes by intertwining twigs and vegetable fibers in the thick of a bush: inside, the female lays 3-5 eggs, which provides to hatch alone (with the male who supervises the surroundings And he takes care of procurement the food for himself and for his partner) for 15-18 days, at the end of which they begin to hatch bull blind and implumes.
The breeding of the offspring is borne by both i partner , which alternate in nourishing and looking after i bull : in this way, they become ready for the inquiry around the two weeks from the hatching, completely freeing themselves from the parental care shortly after.

Having it dorsogrigy is widespread in an area ranging from Kashmir to central and southern China (southern Gansu, Eastern Ningxia and Shaanxi, to the south up to Qinghai and South-Eastern Yunnan and central Guizhou), through western and southern Tibet And Bhutan: some populations tend to migrate to the south during the winter period, moving to the southern slopes of the Himalaya (northern and northeastern India, Nepal, Bengala) or in Southeast Asia (Burma in the south to Tenasserim, Northwestern Thailand , Northern and oriental laos, Tonchino and North of the ANAM).

L’ habitat Of these birds it is represented by pastures at altitude with the presence of tree -lined or bushes spots, as well as by the margins of the wooded areas and the cultivated or urbanized areas with the presence of public green and gardens.

Two subspecies are recognized ^[2] :

• I.anins tephronus lahulensis Koelz, 1950 -widespread in the extreme north-west of the area occupied by the species (from the north of Kashmir to the Uttarakhand through the south-western Tibet);
• I.anins tephronotus tephronotus ( Vigors, 1831 ) – the nominal subspecies, widespread in the vast majority of the area occupied by the species;

Having it dorsogris is strictly related to having it from the long tail, with which she lives in sympathetic in most of the area: although the two species have been merged with some authors, while others come to consider subspecies lahulensis of the species in question as a mestizo or hybrid population between the two ^[4] , there is no evidence of metaling in the areas where the various populations find themselves living together ^[3] .