The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) has a very wide natural distribution that ranges from northeast Russia down south through Asia to Malaysia, the Philippines and India (Law, 1928; Medway, 1970; Daniels, Hedge, and Gadgil, 1990; Wang et al., 1991; Severinghaus, 1996; Pearce, Esler, and Degtyarev, 1998). In addition to that, vagrants have also been recorded in North America (King et al., 1978). In Taiwan, L. cristatus is a common winter resident and migrant (Wang et al., 1991; Severinghaus, 1996; Yosef, 2004).

The brown anole (Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837) (Fig.1) is an exotic invasive lizard species, that was first recorded in Taiwan from Santzepu, Sheishan District, Chiayi County (Norval et al., 2002), and since then a second population has been found in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan (Chang, 2007; Norval et al., 2009).

On the 01st of January, 2010, at ca. 14:00, an adult L. cristatus was observed flying up, with a prey item in its beak, from the understory vegetation of 48th Highland, a coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) plantation in the Chisintang coastline, Hualien City (24º01’19”N, 121º37’50”E; datum: WGS84). The bird flew to a nearby razor wire fence, and after impaling the prey item on the fence (Fig.1) the bird flew away. Closer inspection

revealed that the prey item was a sub-adult A. sagrei (ca. 60 mm in total length).

On the 19th of September, 2010, at ca. 13:30 another adult L. cristatus (Fig.2) was observed manipulating a prey item on a barbed wire fence, surrounding a coffee bush (Coffea ara�icaara�ica) field in Santzepu (23º25’49”N, 120º28’48”E; datum: WGS84). Once again the prey item was identified as an adult male A. sagrei (ca. 50 mm SVL), that was wedged between two wires of the fence (Fig.3). About 3 m further along the fence, a juvenile rice paddy frog (Fejervarya limnocharis; ca. 30 mm SVL) was found wedged in the same manner between two wires of the fence.

Like all other true shrikes (Laniidae), L. cristatus is a sit-and-wait predator, and it preys primarily on invertebrates, and occasionally some vertebrates such as Japalura swinhonis (Mao, unpubl. data), an endemic arboreal lizard of Taiwan. The intentional impaling and wedging behavior of true shrikes is an innate behavioral characteristic, and is believed to function as a type of mate attraction, territorial display, a way to overcome noxious chemicals in some prey types, and/or a prey handling and feeding method (Yosef and Pinshow, 2005), so the observations described herein is not out of the ordinary, but they still indicate that A. sagrei is increasingly becoming part of local ecosystems, not only as a predator, but also as a prey item. Due to the relatively limited current distribution of A. sagrei in Taiwan, these lizards are a novel prey item for the few migrating L. cristatus that encounter them. However, since A. sagrei is expanding its range in Taiwan, and due to their high densities, it can be expected that they will increasingly become prey of migrating L. cristatus.

The only other confirmed avian predator of A. sagrei in Taiwan is Gorsakius melanolophus (Norval et al., 2011), so the observations described herein appear to be the first confirmed instances of L. cristatus predation on A. sagrei in Taiwan.

Herpetology Notes, volume 4: 087-089 (2011) (published online on 24 February 2011)

Two records of brown shrikes (Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758) preying on brown anoles

(Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837) in Taiwan

Po-Kai Chiu1, Gerrut Norval2*, Hsien-Pin Chu3, and Jean-Jay Mao4

1 Department of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Chinese Culture University, No. 55, Hwa-Kang Road, Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei, 11114, Taiwan, R.O.C.;

2 Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit, Department of Environmental Sciences, UNISA, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, Republic of South Africa;

e-mail: a_sagrei@hotmail.com3 Taitung Animal Propagation Station, No. 30, Community

27, Binlang Village, Beinan, Taitung County 954, Taiwan, R.O.C.;

4 Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, National Ilan University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Shen-Lung Rd., Ilan, 260, Taiwan, R.O.C.

* Corresponding author.

Po-Kai Chiu et al.88

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Anolis sagrei. Quarterly of Natural Conservation 57: 37-41. (In Chinese)

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Figure 1. Anolis sagrei has the tendency to openly perch on tree trunks and other objects, making them conspicuous to predators like Lanius cristatus (photographed by Gerrut Norval). Inset: The prey item from the observation made in Chisintang, Hualien City (photographed by Po-Kai Chiu).

Figure 2. A Lanius cristatus near the locality where the observations were made in Santzepu, Sheishan District, Chiayi County (photographed by Gerrut Norval).

Figure 3. The Anolis sagrei from the observation made in Santzepu, Sheishan District, Chiayi County. Note the remains of a grasshopper underneath the lizards, which shows that this particular bird used this wedging place more than once (photographed by Gerrut Norval).

Predation of upon brown anole 89

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Accepted �y Miguel Vences