Taita Fiscal
Photo © Laura Gaudette
Photo © Laura Gaudette — CC BY 4.0 — Source: iNaturalist #147921546The Taita fiscal or Teita fiscal (Lanius dorsalis) is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa from southeastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland. == Description == This is a fairly distinctive 21 cm (8.3 in)-long passerine with white underparts and a black crown, hindneck and wings. The back is grey with a characteristic white 'V' and the rump is white. The tail is relatively long and black with white outer feathers. There is a small white patch on the wings. The bill, eyes and legs are black. The adult male and female Taita fiscal have similar plumage except for a rufous lower flank of the female which is usually hidden by the wing. The juvenile is mainly brown–black above, with barring on the head and buff tips to the shoulder feathers. Its underparts are whitish with darker barring. The adult Taita fiscal is distinguished from other black-headed fiscals by the grey back and the wing pattern, if those are well seen. It gives a jumbled mix of shrike-like whistles and buzzes, including a chwaa-pikerrek-chrrrr-yook pikechik song. == Distribution ==…
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania
+558 birds+57 mammals
Across Tanzania's northern plateau, where volcanic soils meet acacia woodland and open grassland, unfolds one of Earth's most dynamic ecosystems. The Serengeti National Park sprawls across…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKArusha National Park
Tanzania
+555 birds+16 mammals
Where the slopes of Mount Mawenzi rise above the Arusha region, a compact yet ecologically rich national park unfolds across montane forest, moorland, and alpine zones.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKidepo Valley National Park
Uganda
+478 birds+24 mammals
Where the Narus and Kidepo rivers carve through northeastern Uganda's semi-arid lowlands, a landscape of sparse acacia woodland, grassland, and riverine thickets creates one of East…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTsavo East National Park
Athi ward, Kenya
+468 birds+50 mammals
Across the semi-arid lowlands of southeastern Kenya, where acacia woodland fragments into scrubland and the landscape rolls toward the Indian Ocean horizon, lies one of Africa's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTsavo West National Park
Mwatate, Kenya
+513 birds+49 mammals
Where volcanic ridges and weathered lava flows meet the semi-arid lowlands of south-central Kenya, Tsavo West National Park unfolds across a landscape sculpted by fire and…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAmboseli National Park
Etonet/Lenkism ward, Kenya
+501 birds+43 mammals
Where the Amboseli basin opens toward the Tanzanian frontier, a shallow alkaline lake mirrors vast skies across one of East Africa's most iconic savanna landscapes. The…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKilimanjaro National Park
Kenya
+207 birds+16 mammals
Africa's highest mountain rises not in isolation but as the centerpiece of a vast national park that sweeps across the borderlands of northern Tanzania, where savanna…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTarangire National Park
Tanzania
+527 birds+50 mammals
Acacia woodland and grassland sweep across the Manyara Region where the Tarangire River carves through low hills and volcanic soils, creating one of East Africa's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNgorongoro Conservation Area
Tanzania
+626 birds+55 mammals
Volcanic calderas and open grassland dominate this high plateau in northern Tanzania, where the landscape rises above 2,000 metres and ancient geological forces have shaped both…
VIEW WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAAwash National Park
Didiga, Ethiopia
+473 birds+23 mammals
Where the Ethiopian Rift Valley carves through volcanic plateaus, a ribbon of riverine forest winds through acacia scrubland and grassland, creating a mosaic of habitats that…
VIEW NATURAL PARKYabelo Wildlife Sanctuary
Bedewera, Ethiopia
+359 birds+5 mammals
Where acacia woodlands meet volcanic plateaus in southern Ethiopia, a landscape of austere beauty unfolds across nearly 2,500 square kilometers. Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls across semi-arid…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYNairobi National Park
Nairobi, Kenya
+515 birds+35 mammals
Just minutes from Kenya's capital, where the Nairobi River winds through acacia woodland and open grassland, lies one of Africa's most paradoxical wildlife sanctuaries. The park's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMeru National Park
Igembe Central, Kenya
+408 birds+38 mammals
Granite outcrops and acacia woodland rise across the northern reaches of Meru, where semi-arid savanna transitions into drier scrubland under the fierce equatorial sun. The park's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSamburu National Reserve
Samburu, Kenya
+430 birds+42 mammals
Across the arid plains of northern Kenya, where scattered acacia woodland gives way to rocky outcrops and dry riverbeds, Samburu National Park unfolds as one of…
VIEW NATURE RESERVEChyulu Hills National Park
Kibwezi East, Kenya
+232 birds+30 mammals
Volcanic cones rise abruptly from the Kenyan savanna floor, their flanks clothed in dense acacia woodland and grassland that transforms the Chyulu Hills into an ecological…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNo community photos yet. Log in to add the first one.
No community observations of this species yet.