Lagden's bushshrike facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lagden's bushshrike |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lithograph of adult by J.G. Keulemans | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Malaconotidae |
| Genus: | Malaconotus |
| Species: |
M. lagdeni
|
| Binomial name | |
| Malaconotus lagdeni (Sharpe, 1884)
|
|
| Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist. | |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
Lagden's bushshrike (Malaconotus lagdeni) is a special kind of bird. It belongs to the bushshrike family, called Malaconotidae. This bird lives in Africa. It is a stocky, or chunky, bird. It has yellow or orange-yellow feathers on its belly. Its back is olive green, and its head is grey. It also has a strong, heavy beak. There are two main groups, or subspecies, of this bird. One lives in West Africa, and the other lives in Central Africa.
Contents
Discovering Lagden's Bushshrike
A scientist named Richard Bowdler Sharpe first described this bird in 1884. He found a specimen, which is a collected example, near Kumasi in Ghana. He named the bird Laniarius lagdeni at first. For a long time after that, no one saw the bird in that area again.
Sharpe named the bird after Godfrey Yeatman Lagden. Sir Godfrey was an English diplomat. He worked in South Africa as a chief clerk and secretary.
Two Types of Lagden's Bushshrike
There are two groups of Lagden's bushshrike. They live in different places and are called subspecies.
- Malaconotus lagdeni lagdeni: This group lives in West Africa. You can find them in eastern Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, southern Ghana, and western Togo.
- Malaconotus lagdeni centralis: This group lives in Central Africa. They are found in the Albertine Rift montane forests in Uganda.
The western group has more orange on its belly. The central African group does not have this orange color.
What Does Lagden's Bushshrike Look Like?
Lagden's bushshrike is a stocky bird. It is about 23 centimeters (9 inches) long. It has a heavy black beak. Both the male and female birds look very similar.
Colors and Features
- Their upper parts, including their wings and tail, are olive-green.
- Their head is dark grey.
- Their underparts, or belly, are yellow. Sometimes, the chest has an orange tint.
- The edges of their tail feathers are yellow.
- Their legs are bluish-grey.
Young Birds
Young Lagden's bushshrikes, called juveniles, have duller colors. Their upper parts are brownish. Their underparts are yellow or white. Sometimes, they have streaks. Their beak is grey-brown.
How to Tell Them Apart
You can tell Lagden's bushshrike apart from the fiery-breasted bushshrike. The fiery-breasted bushshrike has a much redder chest. It also has a light grey head.
Bird Calls
This bird makes different sounds. Some people describe its call as a hoop hoop or a toot toot.... Others say it sounds like a "bell note." It's similar to the grey-headed bushshrike's call, but higher pitched. Scientists have also described a sound using the word "Chrrrr." You can find recordings of their calls.
They also make a loud flapping sound with their wings. This is sometimes called "fripping."
Where Does Lagden's Bushshrike Live?
Lagden's bushshrike lives in different types of forests.
- In West Africa, they live in warm, wet lowland forests. These are usually below 700 meters (2,300 feet) high.
- In Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they live in wet montane forests. These are mountain forests. They are found at higher elevations, from 2,100 to 2,800 meters (6,900 to 9,200 feet).
Conservation Status
This bird is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. This means it could become endangered in the future. Its numbers are decreasing because it is losing its habitat. Its habitat is the natural place where it lives.
Lagden's bushshrike is considered a very rare mountain forest bird in eastern Africa. It is one of many bird species seen at Kyabobo National Park.
What Does Lagden's Bushshrike Eat?
Lagden's bushshrike hunts for its food. It eats large insects like grasshoppers. It also eats other small creatures with exoskeletons, called arthropods. Sometimes, it eats small animals with backbones, called vertebrates.
It looks for food high up in the forest trees. It forages, or searches, in the forest canopy. This is usually 10 to 30 meters (35 to 100 feet) above the ground.
 | William Lucy |
 | Charles Hayes |
 | Cleveland Robinson |
