Bird Watching (UK)

Is this bird part of the shrike family?

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QI took this photograph on holiday in Sydney, Australia, last year and showed it to a local birder who was not sure what is was, but thought it may be of the shrike family. Can you please help? Eric Patterson

AIt’s a juvenile Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, a fairly common bird in wooded habitat throughout Australia and southern New Guinea – this can include suburban parks and gardens, and they often perch on overhead cables, such as here. As with many Australian species, the name is rather confusing, because they aren’t closely related to either cuckoos or shrikes. Their colouring and general shape may have been responsibl­e for them getting the ‘cuckoo’ part of the name, but the ‘shrike’ comparison is less clear. They don’t feed in the same manner as shrikes, instead typically eating insects and caterpilla­rs found while searching through foliage, or caught in flight.

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