Long-tailed Fiscal
A species of Typical shrikes Scientific name : Lanius cabanisi Genus : Typical shrikes
Long-tailed Fiscal, A species of Typical shrikes
Botanical name: Lanius cabanisi
Genus: Typical shrikes
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Donald Macauley , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
Like many shrike species the appearance of the adults is similar between the sexes but strikingly different in juvenile birds. Adult birds are between 26 and 30 cm (10–12 in) in length and weigh between 69 and 80 g (2.4–2.8 oz) (with males averaging slightly heavier). They are large and robust with, as the name suggests, very long graduated tails and typical strong heavy bills. Moreover L. cabanisi is more compact, and has less slim feet than L. collaris. 
Size
30 cm
Feeding Habits
Long-tailed Fiscal primarily consumes beetles and grasshoppers, occasionally eating small vertebrates, fruits, and even human-provided food like bread and cheese. Solitary hunters, they forage from perches, diving to the ground for prey or picking it from foliage. Unique interactions include a mutually beneficial relationship with Red-billed Buffalo Weavers in Kenya. Long-tailed Fiscal is known to impale prey for storage.
Habitat
Long-tailed Fiscal typically resides in arid environments with sparse tree coverage including savannas and open woodlands with shrubby vegetation. These birds are also known to inhabit areas with human agricultural activities, integrating within cultivated fields.
Dite type
Carnivorous
General Info
Behavior
The long-tailed fiscal feeds on insects, particularly beetles and grasshoppers, as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, snakes and bird chicks. It occurs as single birds or in small groups and hunts in the typical fashion for a shrike, perched about two metres off the ground where it watches for and then dives onto prey. Prey is usually taken from the ground and sometimes from foliage, but only rarely from the air. The species has been reported to have a mutualistic relationship with red-billed buffalo weavers in Tsavo in Kenya. The long-tailed fiscal benefits from associating with the weavers by snatching grasshoppers and other insects flushed by the foraging weavers, and the weavers benefited from the alarm calls made by the more vigilant fiscals.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
True shrikes Genus
Typical shrikes Species
Long-tailed Fiscal 
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