White-rumped Shrike Eurocephalus ruppelli Scientific name definitions

19–23 cm; 42–58 g. A large stocky shrike with relatively short tail. Nominate race has forehead, crown and nape white, dull black facial mask from bill base and lores through eye to ear-coverts and side of neck; upperparts brown, darker on lower back, white rump and uppertail-coverts; upperwing and tail dark brown; chin to undertail-coverts white, dull brown on flanks and underwing-coverts; iris dark brown; bill black; legs dark grey or brown. Sexes very similar. Juvenile is darker than adult, dark brown forehead to nape, blackish area below eye, wing-coverts and back feathers with pale edges and tips, white throat, grey-brown breast with faint barring (forming narrow band), white belly, bill paler than adult's; immature similar to juvenile but head paler, with crown white. Race <em>erlangeri</em> is somewhat larger than nominate.

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Mainly insectivorous , but little information available. Beetles (Coleoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera) and butterflies (Lepidoptera) most commonly taken; removes and discards butterfly wings. Berries also recorded. Scans from from perch 3–7 m up; most prey taken on ground, where the shrike also hops after insects. Frequently takes insects in air, and gleans items from foliage. May forage in small groups.

Little information available. Has complex repertoire with noisy, harsh nasal quality, very similar to voice of E. anguitimens but accelerated. Calls normally short, rather high-pitched, sometimes a single squawk or squeak, or 2–3 chattering, repeated sharp "kek-kek", "kak-kak" or "chee-cheee" notes; also longer phrases made up of fast series of notes, e.g. "chrrk", "wirk-wirk", "yeark-yerk", "wuk-wuk", or "yerk-yerk-yerk-yerk"; also a bleating "weeyer wók" call. Juveniles give sharp "skeet".

Very few data. Season Mar–May and Oct in Ethiopia, Aug–Dec in Sudan, Mar–Jun in Somalia, Jan–Apr/May and Nov in Kenya, and Jun–Dec in Tanzania . Monogamous. Co-operative breeding suspected; although pairs known to breed alone, a report of three individuals perched a few centimetres from another that was incubating. Juveniles apparently have dependency period of at least 3 months. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Common in most of range. Has been poisoned during spraying of Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) colonies. Occurs in several protected areas, including Awash National Park, in Ethiopia, and Buffalo Springs National Reserve and Shaba Game Reserve, in Kenya.