Eurocephalus

Eurocephalus
Southern white-crowned shrike (Eurocephalus anguitimens)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Laniidae
Genus:	Eurocephalus A. Smith, 1836
Species
E. ruppelli   E. anguitimens

Eurocephalus is a small genus of passerine birds in the shrike family. Just two species are placed in this genus.

Extant Species[]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Eurocephalus ruppelli	Northern white-crowned shrike or white-rumped shrike	east Africa from south eastern South Sudan and southern Ethiopia to Tanzania
	Eurocephalus anguitimens	Southern white-crowned shrike or white-crowned shrike	Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

These are large brown and white shrikes found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are gregarious species, unlike the Lanius shrikes, and have a parrot-like flight.

Eurocephalus shrikes are birds of savanna and open woodland habitats, typically seen perched upright on a prominent thornbush perch. These species primarily take large insects, but will occasionally eat fruit which has fallen to the ground.

The male and female are similar in plumage in both species but are distinguishable from immature birds.

References[]

• Tony Harris and Kim Franklin, Shrikes and Bush-Shrikes ISBN 0-7136-3861-3