Steppe Grey Shrike at Benacre: Andrew Moon

‘Steppe’ Grey Shrike – Lanius excubitor pallidirostris Benacre, October 4th to 7th 2020 The third record for Suffolk and the 27th for Britain

Andrew V Moon and Carl Buttle

Circumstances and discovery:

Many birdwatchers always keep an eagle-eye on weather patterns, especially at certain times of year, such as in the spring and autumn. Whether it is to try and determine if the wind conditions would be suitable for a productive seawatch (sadly infrequent on the Suffolk coast!) or whether onshore winds might be appropriate for displacing birds of eastern origin in the autumn away from their normal southbound routes. it was very apparent that early october was shaping up very nicely to produce what looked like perfect conditions for the grounding of potentially rare birds from the east. furthermore, the mouth-watering synopsis for october 2nd 2020 was forecasting an easterly wind that was originating from well to the east of the caspian Sea, about 5000 kilometres to the south-east of Suffolk! these conditions, combined with persistent rain, were ideal conditions to bring in rare birds originating in eastern europe, russia or beyond.

Saturday October 3rd: As predicted, it remained very wet in Suffolk. However, the roll call of rare birds from the very start of the day was quite astonishing! Great Snipe Gallinago media, redbreasted flycatcher Ficedula parva, richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi and a Shore Lark Eremophila alpestris were all reported from Landguard. At around the same time, a fine rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica was found at Lowestoft Denes, along with a Wryneck Jynx torquila, a very late Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus which flew south and, nearby, a radde’s Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi seen briefly at Gunton. Not far to the south a Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor excubiter arrived at Benacre and another was seen briefly at Southwold near the campsite, before flying off to the west. finally, to round off the day, a Booted Warbler Iduna caligata put in a late appearance at Sizewell.

Sunday October 4th: the day dawned, not surprisingly, rather wet again. the Booted Warbler at Sizewell soon made itself scarce and was not seen again after its initial sighting shortly after daybreak. Likewise, the rustic Bunting showed well initially, but then flew off to the south mid-morning and didn’t show again. A superb radde’s Warbler was found at Southwold and was behaving cooperatively (at times) and showing well to most visitors. the same day, after watching the latter, AVM decided to head north to Benacre to look for the Great Grey Shrike that had been seen several times. on the way down to Benacre he met cB who had just seen the Great Grey Shrike which had been hunting in a hedge close to Beach farm. AVM continued down the track and almost at the seaward end

the Steppe Grey Shrike at Benacre, october 5th John Richardson

of the hedge he located the Great Grey Shrike, which showed well, albeit briefly. He confirmed that it was a Great Grey Shrike, showing a black bill and solid black mask. unfortunately, it moved away as he was taking the waterproof cover off his camera and he didn’t see where it had gone. He then walked south along the cliff edge and after some time noted what was obviously a shrike perched in a distant hedge line, but no further details were discernible at that range. He retraced his steps back up the track and then along the hedge line to where he had last seen the bird. As he crested the hill and walked past the concrete pillbox, he was able to confirm that the shrike was still present in the same section of hedge.

AVM then removed his telescope from its tripod and replaced it with his camera and long lens and began to take some pictures. He then slowly approached the bird, which didn’t move (unusual for a Great Grey Shrike!). the bird was face-on the whole time. He was able to get about 60 metres away when it started to rain more heavily and the bird (probably in response to the rain) then dropped down a little bit and proceeded to move further into the bush. He could still see the bird, but it was difficult to see any more details. knowing that Great Grey Shrikes are normally very flighty and that other people were in the area looking for the bird, he decided to leave the area after putting out the news that the Great Grey Shrike was still present.

Because the weather was so bad, AVM (as well as his camera) were soaking wet – for the second day in a row! – he hadn’t bothered to try to dig out his glasses to review the images at the time. oops! it wasn’t until that evening that AVM finally got around to uploading his images… BANG! one look at the images quickly revealed that this was no ordinary Great Grey Shrike. it was incredibly pale grey, with an even paler grey bill and a dark tip to both mandibles (most obvious on the culmen); in addition, the rather dull black eyeline didn’t extend to the bill. He realised without resorting to any books that it looked identical to Steppe Grey Shrike – a bird he could remember seeing incredibly well at Holland-on-Sea in essex, way back in November 1996.

He quickly texted Dave fairhurst (with an image of the bird) stating that it looked a ‘dead ringer’ for Steppe Grey Shrike. Dave’s reply was favourable and after involving Brian Small (along with a few more images), the agreement was that it was indeed a Steppe Grey Shrike! However,

Dave did inject a dose of realism into the situation when he said that AVMs views, along with the photos, might still struggle to get the record accepted by the British Birds rarities committee! He then mentioned two unseen features that were important to secure: a more extensive white primary patch on the closed wing which, although larger, did not extend onto the secondaries in flight and also the longer primary extension (compared with Great Grey Shrike) the news went out that there was a Steppe Grey Shrike at Benacre, as well as a Great Grey Shrike.

Monday October 5th: AVM arrived on site at just after sunrise (not that any sun was visible in the constant light rain) and walked slowly down to the shrike’s favoured bush. When he was still some distance away, he glimpsed a pale bird fly out of the bush, drop down into the field and then fly back into the bush. it was still present! frustratingly, although he knew it was still in the bush, he couldn’t see it! in the end he was parallel with the bush and no more than five metres away. After staring at the bush for some time, he finally saw the bird deep within the hawthorn and not willing to show itself! He managed to get some shots at close range, but they were all obscured one way or the other and he wasn’t able to see all of the bird at once! Steppe Grey Shrikes are typically approachable and unafraid, but this was ridiculous!

He was soon joined by richard Drew and Brian Small and shortly afterwards cB and Ally riseborough joined the group. We all enjoyed the close, if somewhat obscured, views. Whilst we were chatting, cB explained to AVM that he had seen the bird the previous day in exactly the same bush! once the rain had cleared and it started to behave more like a shrike, it was possible to see all of the other features that were not visible on the first day: i.e. the longer primary extension, as well as the large white primary patch that was confined to the primaries, the latter most noticeable in flight. Many Suffolk birders, as well as quite a few from further afield, were able to visit the site over the next few days. Perhaps uniquely, certainly in the uk, it was possible to see both Great Grey Shrike and Steppe Grey Shrike in the same place at the same time! it continued to show well until october 7th when it was seen for the last time. it was spooked by a Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus on the latter date and that may well have precipitated its departure.

Steppe Grey Shrike, Benacre – october 5th 2020 Andrew Moon

Andrew V Moon

Description:

Age: clearly a first-winter bird based on its strikingly pale-grey upperparts, the greatly-reduced black mask and pale lores, as well as the noticeably pale bill, with a distinctive pinkish base.

General character and appearance: obviously a ‘grey shrike type’, and, to all intents and purposes, it seemed similar to a Great Grey Shrike. However, subtle differences were apparent from the outset (or at least when i started looking at my photos!). Strikingly pale-grey, almost pallid, upperparts, an even paler-grey and rather oversized bill (compared with Great Grey Shrike), with a large hook on the upper mandible and a dark tip to both mandibles. Noticeably long claws. A bold charcoal-black mask behind the eye, but the lores were pale greyish-white. Apart from the first two sightings when the bird was mostly along the bush edges (or inside) during poor weather, its behaviour in fair weather was typically shrike-like, sitting up prominently on the tallest twigs constantly on the lookout for prey.

Upperparts: crown, back and mantle: very pale-grey, much paler than on nominate excubitor, dirty white fringe to scapulars separating them from the remiges (mainly when hunched up in the bush), although this ‘fringe’ tended to disappear when it was perched upright on top of the hedge. on the closed wing the primaries and secondaries were black, but with a prominent large white flash close to the base of the primaries, more striking and extensive than on excubitor. the inner primaries had off-white tips and the secondaries had prominent off-white fringes which extended along the outer webs onto the tips, visible in flight as a very fine trailing edge to the inner wing. At least six or seven primary tips were visible on the closed wing beyond the tertials. When perched, the primary extension quite clearly extended onto the base of the tail, compared with the primary extension of excubitor which sometimes barely seems to cover the upper tail coverts. tertials: charcoal-black with broad off-white tips. Median coverts: charcoal-black with off-white fringes. Greater coverts: charcoal-black (coverts only glimpsed in one image as the wing was raised). rump: off-white, contrasting with back, mantle and upper tail. Alula: pale charcoal with thin off-white fringe.

Underparts: rather greyish-white, but slightly warmer on the breast, with a rather peachy or pinkish tinge to the upper breast. No evidence was seen of any barring.

Tail: black with white outer-tail feathers. Although not visible in a side-on view, the tail was distinctly graduated and tapered to a point when seen from back on, with the central (black) tail feathers being longer than the outer (white) tail feathers.

Face: dominated by a charcoal-coloured mask that extended from the eye onto the rear ear coverts, with the appearance of a downward ‘hook’ at the rear. Greyish-white band above the eye extending from just in front of the eye and tapering down near the upper rear end of the mask. Lores: rather plain greyish-white. cheeks: off white.

Bill: rather pale-greyish, with a distinct pinkish tinge towards the base, and a rather blackish tip to both mandibles, which extended half-way along the culmen of the upper mandible; also dark around the nostril. the bill was stout and noticeably bulbous, with a strong downward curve to both the upper and lower mandibles, ending in a large hook on the upper mandible. the bill was, without doubt, one of the bird’s most distinctive features being noticeably pale and proportionately longer and (perhaps) stouter than in excubitor.

Legs: black, quite long and noticeably stout, with long claws (very obvious at close range!). clearly useful for subduing wriggling prey! certainly, longer and stouter than i can recall on Great Grey Shrikes (in fact the long, stout legs always seem to be a feature of Steppe Grey Shrikes, whereas they never seem to be that prominent on Great Grey).

Eye: black

In flight: the very broad white primary patch could be seen to be confined to the primaries, with no extension onto the secondaries and was at its widest across the inner primaries (where it covered about 70-80% of each feather) and extended almost to the edge of the wing (where it covered perhaps only 30-40% of each feather).

Taxonomy:

Steppe Grey Shrike has had a real roller-coaster of a ride as far as its taxonomic status is concerned. the very first British record was on fair isle, Shetland on September 21st 1956. it was seen initially before being trapped. rather entertainingly it was variously known as Bogdanoff’s Shrike (Dresser 1895), then Grimm’s Grey Shrike (Dresser 1902) until it became Steppe Shrike (edberg 1954). it was then considered to be a subspecies of Great Grey Shrike and was appropriately referred to as ‘a desert race of the Great Grey Shrike’ in the account. the second British record was in october 1964 and also on fair isle. there were then no further records until the first Suffolk sighting at Landguard in December 1986 (still the latest-ever in Britain). five further British records occurred up until 1993, including the second Suffolk record at easton Bavents in october 1992 and then an astonishing influx of five records in Britain in 1994.

By the time the next Steppe Grey Shrike arrived, at Holland-on-Sea, essex in November 1996 (the 14th British record) it had been adjudged by the British ornithologists union (Bou) to be the subspecies pallidirostris of Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) and therefore a new bird for all uk birders, as that species had never occurred before in Britain. Although happily accepted by British birders, it did seem to be a rather uncomfortable juxtaposition taxonomically, especially as there was an obvious geographical gap between the rest of the Lanius meridionalis subspecies and pallidirostris! twelve further records followed with the most recent being one on Shetland in october 2017 which is the 26th British record and is, interestingly, listed as Lanius pallidirostris in the 2017 BBrc report, rather than L. meridionalis pallidirostris as in all BBrc reports since 1996. So, according to the 2017 BBrc report, ioc at that time recognised Steppe Grey Shrike as a monotypic species. the new taxonomic status of Steppe Grey Shrike remained in place until January 2019 when the international ornithological committee (ioc) reviewed the whole classification of the ‘Great Grey Shrike’ complex. this reassessment meant that Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) became the monotypic iberian Grey Shrike, whilst the rest of the subspecies, that had previously

Steppe Grey Shrike, Benacre – october 7th 2020 Andrew Moon

been subsumed within the L. meridionalis group, were shunted back into Lanius excubitor. consequently, this meant that Steppe Grey Shrike became, once again, a subspecies of Great Grey Shrike and no longer a defined species on its own! it will remain a strange irony that the status of Steppe Grey Shrike as a ‘tickable’ species didn’t coincide with any of the Suffolk records! it does seem strange that a bird as distinctive as Steppe Grey Shrike isn’t categorised as a monotypic species, since it does seem so completely different compared with many other subspecies in the excubitor complex. Not only is pallidirostris structurally different (shorter tail, more pointed wing and heavier leg and foot), but its plumage is also quite visually distinct (see Description), especially in the first-winter phase. in addition, its behaviour is also markedly at variance with Great Grey Shrike, being conspicuously tame and approachable (presumably because it normally encounters few humans within its home range). Not only that but it also mostly occurs in dry, treeless deserts populated with thorn scrub, Saxaul shrubs and caragana bushes (a family of leguminous dwarf shrubs) or in similar arid landscapes. As others have suggested, it could perhaps be renamed Saxaul Grey Shrike (or Desert Grey Shrike). the most recent ioc World Bird List update (January 2021) merely restates its previous decision “… Restore to status as ssp. of excubitor pending better resolution of this complex.”! Maybe one day taxonomists will return to this fascinating shrike and reinstate its justified status as a full species!

Just to add some spice into the mixture, races of the Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis) from the Nearctic (now split off from Lanius excubitor), are spread well into eastern Asia, reaching northern Mongolia and eastern kazakhstan to the west. So, we may well get the first British record of Northern Shrike (mostly likely from the Nearctic) before we see Steppe Grey Shrike being split again!

Lanius excubitor pallidirostris – Distribution and migration:

the huge home range of this subspecies is essentially bordered to the west by the caspian Sea, extending right through kazakhstan to the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia and northern china in the east, and Afghanistan, kashmir, NW Pakistan and Ne iran in the south. rather curiously it

is a partial long-distance migrant, although some parts of the populations are strictly sedentary, principally those birds residing/wintering in turkmenistan and iran. those nesting further north in uzbekistan and kazakhstan are true migrants and whilst some might winter in iran, others travel as far southwest as eastern Sudan, eritrea, ethiopia and northern Somalia. those birds wintering in north-east Africa follow a south-westerly route in autumn over the Arabian Gulf; it is these birds that are most likely to be responsible for British records. Normally birds will leave their breeding grounds in mid-September and return in March and April. Apart from one in spring and one, rather bizarre, summer record (isle of Man, June 7th to July 12th 2003), all British birds have arrived between September 14th and December 6th, (the latter date referring to the Landguard bird), with the majority occurring in october and November. rather interestingly the weather conditions that were responsible for the arrival of the first British record on fair isle in 1956 were nearly identical to the weather pattern on october 2nd 2020: “During this period there had been a generally easterly airflow south of a high-pressure centre from the Transcaspian region across middle and southern Europe and the northern shores of the Mediterranean.” (Williamson 1957).

Previous Suffolk records (as mentioned above): 1986: Landguard, December 6th 1992: easton Bavents, october 4th to 7th

Not only was the 1992 record just a few kilometres to the south of Benacre, but the arrival and departure dates are exactly the same as the 2020 sighting – precisely 28 years before! An amazing coincidence.

References:

clement., P. (1995). Southern and eastern Great Grey Shrikes in northwest europe. Birding World 8: 300-309. Del Hoyo, J., elliott, A and christie, D.A. eds (2008). Handbook of Birds of the World. Pendulinetits to Shrikes. Vol 13. Holt, c. et al (2018). report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2017. British Birds 111: 592-3. Hudson, N. et al (2010). report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2009. British Birds 103: 606. Hudson, N. et al (2011). report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2010. British Birds 104: 594-5. Lefranc, N. and Worfolk, (1997) SHRIKES. A Guide to the Shrikes of the World. yale university Press. Piotrowski, S (2003). The Birds of Suffolk. Helm, London. Williamson, k. A (1957) Desert race of the Great Grey Shrike, New to the British isles. British Birds 50: 246-249.