Crested shriketit


The crested shriketit, or Australian shriketit, is a bird endemic to Australia where it inhabits open eucalypt forest and woodland. It is the only species contained within both the family Falcunculidae and the genus Falcunculus.

Taxonomy and distribution

The crested shriketit was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Lanius frontatus. Nuclear gene sequencing suggests that the crested shriketit required its own family, Falcunculidae.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized, with disjunct ranges and sometimes considered full species:
Males are larger than females in wing length, weight, and bill-size. Males have black throats, while females have olive green.

Behaviour

It feeds mainly on insects, spiders and, sometimes, particularly during the breeding season, young birds. Thistles are also taken. It has a parrot-like bill, used for distinctive bark-stripping behaviour, which gains it access to invertebrates.

Status and conservation

The eastern shriketit is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the northern shriketit is considered endangered, and the western shriketit is listed as near threatened. Both the northern and western crested shriketits suffer from habitat loss and fragmentation.