The steppe grey shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is a large subspecies of songbird in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to Central Asia and parts of northern China, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Formerly considered a subspecies of the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) complex, it is now classified as a subspecies of the great grey shrike.
| Steppe grey shrike | |
|---|---|
| |
| In southern Kazakhstan | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Laniidae |
| Genus: | Lanius |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | L. e. pallidirostris
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| Trinomial name | |
| Lanius excubitor pallidirostris Cassin, 1851
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy edit
The steppe grey shrike was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1851 under its current binomial name Lanius pallidirostris.[1] The generic Lanius is Latin for a "butcher" and the specific pallidirostris combines the Latin pallidus for "pale" and -rostris for "billed".[2] The species is monotypic.[3]
References edit
- ^ Cassin, John (1851). "Descriptions of new species of birds of the family Laniadae, specimens of which are in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 5 (10): 244–254 [244–245].
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 219, 289. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Shrikes, vireos & shrike-babblers". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
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