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02 May 2016

Female Turkestan Shrike - Jubail

Whilst birding the Jubail area last weekend I found a number of interesting shrikes. The one below was a difficult bird to identify for me so I sent it to Brian Small and Alan Dean for help and confirmation. The opinion from the experts on this one is it is a female Turkestan Shrike phoenicuroides. Although there is possibly a very slight wash on the cheeks, the upperparts colour and tone, with dark centres to the tertials hint at Turkestan. Close examination looks like there are some slight crescnetal markings on the breast sides and the longest tertial is also of a different age to the other two (white, narrow fringe). I thank Brian and Alan for help with a number of my difficult shrikes over the years and again for help with this one.
Turkestan Shrike