PHOTO OF CLOSELY RELATED SUBSPECIES 



SAN CLEMENTE LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 



Lanius ludovicianus meamsi Ridgway 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Aves 



ORDER Passerifonnes 



FAMILY Laniidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES California shrike, island shrike, 



San Clemente shrike, Meams' shrike, 

 Santa Barbara Island Shrike. 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS To be determined 



Update To be determined 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Endangered: FR 42 40685, 11 Aug. 

 1977. p. 40685. 



States: Protected by California law. 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



Destruction over large areas of the dense, 

 brushy vegetation required for shrike territory 



headquarters has undoubtly reduced the number 

 of possible wintering and breeding areas consider- 

 ing the aggressive territorial behavior of the birds. 

 This has reduced the reproductive potential of L. 

 I. mearnsi to the point where it has almost the 

 lowest ratio (30%) of immatures to adults, of any 

 subspecies except L. I. anthonyi, another island 

 race (Miller 1931). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



None assigned. 



DESCRIPTION 



The San Clemente loggerhead shrike is a 

 medium-sized bird, slightly smaller than a robin, 

 gray above, white below and on the rump, with a 

 black mask over the eyes. Black wings and tail, 

 each have patches of white. Of all the subspecies 

 of L. ludovicianus, mearnsi is the most isolated 

 and is among the most sharply characterized (Mil- 

 ler 1931). 



Overall length is 224 mm (av. of 10 adults) 

 (Meams 1898). It is similar to L. I. anthonyi of 

 Santa Cruz Island, but the upper tail coverts are 

 abruptly white; there is more white on the scap- 



