Abstract
Since the 1970s the Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus has established a breeding population on the Daito Islands. The islands represent the southwestern limit of the species' breeding range. We investigated the habitat selection of this isolated population during the 2003 breeding season in the agricultural landscape of Minami-daito Island. A comparison of habitat types around shrike nests and randomly selected points, showed that shrikes largely foraged in sugarcane fields and utilized fences and utility wires as suitable perch sites. Our results suggest that it is the open, cultivated areas (sugarcane has been grown on the island since 1900) that have provided suitable habitat for the Bull-headed Shrike allowing it to establish a breeding population on the Daito Islands.
