White-tailed Shrike (Lanioturdus torquatus)

White-tailed Shrike
Lanioturdus torquatus

The White-tailed Shrike (Lanioturdus torquatus) occurs only in western Angola and Namibia and inhabits thorn scrub brush. The species spends a great deal of its time foraging on the ground where it hops from bush to bush scanning the leaves for any insect prey. When sighting a meal it darts up to grab the bug from a leaf, then continues its search. The photos below were taken at the Huab Lodge in Namibia during October, 1998, with a Canon EOS 1N & EF 300mm F4L IS lens and a 1.4X extender with available light. The film was Fuji Sensia 100 on both images. These two photos were shot hand-held with the camera and lens on a gunstock mount.