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How the Tiger Shrike dismantled a beetle

on 30th October 2006

Shrikes are songbirds. But when they hunt they behave like little raptors. An earlier posting showed how aggressive a juvenile Tiger Shrike (Lanius tigrinus) was when eyeing the white-eyes in a cage. Given a chance we are sure it would have devoured one of the caged birds.

The diet of these shrikes consists of large insects and small vertebrates that include songbirds, reptiles, rodents and even mammals. So far there has not been any local report of a shrike capturing a vertebrate prey. But in mid-September 2006 we observed a juvenile Tiger Shrike manipulating a large scarab beetle (above).

The juvenile bird was on a perch, looking handsome and posing for the camera. But it was actually eyeing the surroundings. Suddenly it dived towards the ground and caught hold of a scarab beetle by one of its legs (above).

Returning to its perch and with one of its feet holding down the beetle, it started to stab the wriggling insect with its sharp beak. Then, holding on to the head (above), it thrashed it against the branch until it managed to tear away the upper portion from the body and got a first taste of its crunchy meal (below).

Beetles have a thick protective sheath, the elytra, over the back portion of the body. This is made up of the hardened forewings, tucked under which is the pair of functioning membranous wings. The other parts of the body have a covering of thick cuticle. So beetles are generally well protected from predators. But not from shrikes!

The shrike next tried to crush the headless beetle with its powerful beak (above). But the beetle’s elytra proved too hard. With another swift swing it got the elytra detached. The bird then tried to squeeze out the soft tissue and in the process nearly lost its grip on the perch.

It continued to crush the thorax with its powerful jaws, pulling at the soft tissues, determined to get to the succulent part. At this point the beetle thorax was totally mangled (above).

Swallowing the thoracic portion, it tried to swallow the remaining part but could not succeed (above). It was either too hard or too big. It tried to crush and flatten it further in between its mandibles before finally finishing its meal (below).

Tha above account is by Melinda Chan. All images by Chan Yoke Meng. The beetle was identified with the help of Dr Cheong Loong Fah

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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