NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Northern Fiscal
Lanius humeralis Stanley, 1814
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northern fiscal (Lanius humeralis) is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal (Lanius collaris). Together they were called the common fiscal. The fiscal gets its English and Afrikaans common names from its black and white 'suit-and-tie' appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).
Wikipedia contributors, Northern fiscal; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:56.500794+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lanius humeralis Stanley, 1814
- Name authority
- Stanley, 1814
- Common name
- Northern Fiscal
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Laniidae
- Genus
- Lanius
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyLaniidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusLanius Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesLanius humeralis Stanley, 1814
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lanius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Southern FiscalLanius collaris Linnaeus, 1766 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio Linnaeus, 1758 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-backed FiscalLanius excubitoroides Prévost & des Murs, 1847 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mackinnon's ShrikeLanius mackinnoni Sharpe, 1891 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Iberian Grey ShrikeLanius meridionalis Temminck, 1820 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Grey ShrikeLanius minor J. F. Gmelin, 1788 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-tailed ShrikeLanius schach Linnaeus, 1758 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Woodchat ShrikeLanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Souza's ShrikeLanius souzae Barboza du Bocage, 1878 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chinese Grey ShrikeLanius sphenocercus Cabanis, 1873 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mountain ShrikeLanius validirostris Ogilvie-Grant, 1894 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Giant Grey ShrikeLanius giganteus Przevalski, 1887 | LaniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Stanley, Edward Smith/Salt, Henry (ed.). (1814). Appendix IV. Additional Remarks on these Birds, communicated to be by the Nobleman in whose Collection they are now deposited. A Voyage to Abyssinia, and Travels into the Interior of That Country, Executed Ender the Orders of the British Government, in the Years 1809 and 1810. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3S7BS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.