Steppe grey shrike explained

The steppe grey shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is a large subspecies of songbird in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to Central Asia and parts of northern China, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Formerly considered a subspecies of the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) complex, it is now classified as a subspecies of the great grey shrike.

Taxonomy

The steppe grey shrike was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1851 under its current binomial name Lanius pallidirostris.^[1] The generic Lanius is Latin for a "butcher" and the specific pallidirostris combines the Latin pallidus for "pale" and -rostris for "billed".^[2] The species is monotypic.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Cassin . John . John Cassin . 1851 . Descriptions of new species of birds of the family Laniadae, specimens of which are in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . 5 . 10 . 244–254 [244–245] .
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 219, 289 .
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2017 . Shrikes, vireos & shrike-babblers . World Bird List Version 7.3 . International Ornithologists' Union . 28 October 2017 .