Following yesterday’s post on the Large Woodshrike (Tephrodornis virgatus) LINK, Daisy O’Neill has sent in the following background account:
“Little is known about the foraging habits of Large Woodshrikes. Apart from being an arboreal foliage-gleaning insectivore, capturing arthropods on the fly, they were also observed to forage for berries. To mention some specifics are: dragonflies, hard shelled beetles, spiders, larvae and green stick insects.
“A small party of less than ten birds was seen foraging in a plantation.
“A female was observed to have separated from the rest. In her beak, she had caught a gecko for breakfast. Against the back-lighting sky, several photographic shots were taken.
“At that moment, I was unaware that a gecko lizard would well be a possibly new food record for Large Woodshrikes.
“Several sub-species of Large Woodshrikes are known. This image is likely to be a sub-species fretensis.”
References:
The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula Vol: 2 by David R. Wells
Birds of Borneo by Bertam E. Smythies
Avian Writer Daisy O’Neill
Copyright Article and image copy:
Courtesy of Daisy O’Neill Bird Conservation Fund
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